Life Unscripted
by SereneCalamity
Summary: As teenagers, they played sweethearts on a popular television show. But it's been years now since they've seen each other. Clace.
1. Chapter 1

_I've got a couple of new stories that I'm starting! They're not going to be added to my normal updating list yet, because they're not going to be updated regularly just yet. I wanted to get your feedback, see what you all thought, and of course_ — _I'm still working on my current stories!_

 _So, I hope you guys enjoy this new story!_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. I've added a couple of real actors in here, but obviously it's all fictional and made up for the sake of my own fun :)_

"Yo, Clary! You're on TV!" Simon Lewis shouted from the lounge, where he was sprawled out across the couch, reaching for the remote and turning the volume up. There was a non-committal grunt from his red-headed friend, who was sitting at the kitchen table in the adjoining room, a pen stuck in the corner of her mouth as she frowned down at the lap top and papers in front of her. Simon shrugged and went back to watching TV.

". _..We grew up with them, and we fell in love with them as we watched them grow from bumbling kids into gorgeous teenagers. You guys know who I'm talking about—Jace Wayland and Clarissa Morgenstern from_ City of Glass _, and tonight, they're going to be the focus of our_ Where Are They Now?" The cheesy TV presenter grinned into the camera and Simon smirked as a photo of a very young Clarissa Fray was shown on screen, awkward braces and all.

"Come on, Clary! Watch with me!" Simon called out.

"No way," Clary snapped back. "It's a re-run, and it's stupid. You know I hate watching shit like that."

"Well, I haven't seen it," Simon shrugged. "So I'm going to watch it."

"Yeah, well, turn it down. I'm trying to work in here," she grumbled. Simon conceded, only turning it down a couple of notches before becoming absorbed in the show. He knew that it was a trashy, day time TV programme, but he couldn't help but watch it if it had his best friend on it.

" _When we were first introduced to Jace and Clarissa—or Clary, as she goes by—they were fourteen years old_ ," the presenter went on. " _A bit of background on the pair of them, starting with Jace. Jace's parents were both killed in a tragic car accident when Jace was nine years old, and he was taken in by his godmother, Charlotte Branwell. Jace's father, Stephen, was a well known screen writer, and his mother, Celine, was beautiful socialite. So even from a young age, he was surrounded by the famous life style_." There were a collage of photos of the golden haired Jace Wayland. Even when he was a kid he was clearly attractive, something that made Simon irrationally jealous of a guy that he had never met. It seemed as though while he was going through his geeky, awkward stage with bad hair cuts and clothes picked out by his mother until about the age seventeen, this guy was completely flawless. " _Similarly, Clary was also raised by a family that was used to the spot light. Her father is a big shot defence attorney, although from what we understand from all our sources, that once her father and mother divorced, ties were severed between him and his daughter. She kept his last name as her stage name, but has since taken her mothers last name. Her mother, Jocelyn, was also a prominent actor—winning awards and critical acclaim for several big movies and TV shows—including_ City of Glass _, where she played Clary's on screen mother_." There were some glamor shots of Jocelyn Fray, a lot of them from when she was in her twenties and Simon's eyes raised.

"Shit! Jocie was hot!" He advised. "I mean, she's still hot now, but she was smoking hot!"

"You're disgusting, you know that, right?" Clary muttered and Simon looked up from where he was on the couch, seeing Clary in the doorway.

"Couldn't keep away, huh?" He smirked. "Oh, the price of fame," he mocked lightly as Clary fell down on the couch next to him, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the TV screen.

" _Jace's god mother, Charlotte, is a very popular agent, and still represents Jace to this day. When she noticed Jace's interest in acting, she nurtured this with lessons and classes, and when there was a casting call for an up and coming TV show, she took him along. Clary on the other hand had been on screen since her acting debut in_ Clockwork Princess _, as the daughter of legendary actor, Tom Hanks. From that point forward, she was in both movies and TV shows, and when her mother got the part as one of the lead roles in_ City of Glass _, a programme which followed the scandalous lives of the residents of Midnight Avenue, a street in the fictional city of Sunnyvale, she suggested her daughter for the part_." There were a few more photos, and a clip of Jocelyn and a very young Clary talking to the producer of the show.

"You were so cute," Simon sat up from where he had been lying down and nudged her in the side.

"You've seen a hundred photos of me from when I was little," Clary replied. "Mum loves breaking out the embarrassing childhood photos at family dinners."

"Yeah, but come on," he shrugged. "It's always different when it's plastered all over TV. It's not every day you become best friends with a former movie star." Clary didn't reply and Simon knew that it was a little bit of a touchy subject with her. Maybe he should have turned the show off as soon as it had started, but he couldn't help it. "We can turn it off if you want," he suggested.

"No, it's okay," Clary sighed.

" _Jace played the son of a single father, who lived at 7 Midnight Avenue. His father was a doctor with a drug problem who had a tendency to use his fists on his young son. Clary played the daughter of two parents, living at 9 Midnight Avenue, who loved her, but not each other. Her father was sleeping his way around the neighbourhood while her mother re-ignited an affair with her high school lover, played by Luke Greymark_." There was a clip of the show, showing Jocelyn and Luke making out.

"Now that's something I see far more of than I need to," Clary cracked a smile for her first time.

"Was it this show that got them together?" Simon asked. "Or did they know each other before then?"

"They ran in the same sort of circles and they had met before, but it wasn't until we were filming the second season, and mum and dad's divorce was finalized that they actually started dating," Clary said.

 _"We watched as Jace and Clary grew from the ages fourteen to eighteen. Their characters had been neighbours all of their lives, and they had been friends, but Jace's character was sent to a prestigious all boys school, given his father was well off, and Clary went to public school, and so their friendship seemed to peeter out. But when Clary's character became aware of the abuse going on next year, she rekindled her friendship with her neighbour_." There was another scene from the show, a young, frizzy haired Clary was biting her lip as she looked through the window, watching as a young, broken looking Jace, curled up on the ground as his father kicked him in the ribs.

"Did you know that Jace actually got a broken nose once on set?" Clary commented as she tilted her head to the side.

"From one of the abuse scenes?"

"Nope," she shook her head. "It was actually this scene where me and him broke into the school pool, in the third season, when we were sixteen. He was meant to do this big fancy dive of the diving board, and we had to re-shoot it like four times because he kept screwing it up. I was so angry," she grinned a little. "I had to stay in the pool the whole time, and even though the water was heated, I was freezing my ass off because my hair was all wet and it was the middle of the night. Anyway, it was like the last take, and he skidded on the edge of the pool and face planted the concrete."

"Ouch," Simon cringed, but he couldn't help laugh a little at the small grin on her face.

The program went on, giving a play by play of almost everything that the two characters went through on the show, from Clary's first time with a guy who filmed it and showed it to his friends, to Jace's kleptomania. Of course, the two of them finally admitted they liked each other when they were fifteen, and while there were the usual teenage hiccups, they were in a happy relationship when the show finally concluded, when they, and their characters, were eighteen, in the fifth season. There were photos of premieres and events, and clips from the show and candid shots that they had taken with fans or by the paparazzi. A lot of it Simon had seen before—hell, he had watched this show when he was a teenager as well. Jace Wayland and Clary Morgenstern were household names.

" _As we all know, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not this on screen romance had shifted into reality. These two were photographed together on vacation on the off season of filming, and they always seemed touchy-feely in the behind the scenes footage_ ," the presenter continued. " _It wasn't until the end of the fourth season, though, when they were seventeen, that they admitted they were seeing each other_." Clary stiffened beside Simon and he looked at her out of the corner of her eye. " _They never really gave the media all that much to talk about, both of them with quite a squeaky clean image. That is, of course, until the tape was released_." The presenter had a salacious smile on her face as she winked at the camera. " _You all know the tape I'm talking about_."

And then a snippet of the sex tape was showing.

Censored, of course, but there was no question about who it was, or what they were doing.

" _This tape was released and went viral just after the fifth and final season of_ City of Glass _concluded. The tape was filmed without either of their consent, apparently by an overeager paparazzo hacked into the web-cam of Clary's computer and then sold it to the highest bidder. These two were suddenly plastered all over the cover of every magazine, tabloid and headlining day time TV_."

"We don't have to watch this," Simon grabbed for the remote.

"It's pretty much over now," Clary shrugged, trying not to look bothered. "Nothing I haven't seen before." The presenter talked for a few more minutes about the tape before coming to the conclusion of the show.

" _And now, the question;_ Where Are They Now _? Well, after starring in a successful movie that finished filming a year after_ City of Glass _came to an end, Jocelyn and Clary pretty much disappeared from the face of the earth. Funnily enough, Jocelyn had remarried, with Luke, her on screen boyfriend, and they took Clary and Clary's older brother, Jonathon, who was six years her senior and not interested in the spotlight like the rest of his family, and moved to Australia. Not much has been heard about them since, fading into the life of normalcy that they had been deprived of for so long—all of Clary's childhood_."

"Hear that, Fray? You're normal now," Simon smiled at her, tossing his arm over her shoulder. Clary poked out her tongue.

" _Unlike Clary, Jace didn't shy away from the fame and the fortune and everything that came with it. He has gone on to star in many movies, most of them grossing well in the box office both nationally and internationally. And just like many childhood stars who were forced to grow up to quickly, he has made quite a name for himself in the media for things other than being an actor_." Headlines started splashing across the screen, _Wayland Involved in DUI, Wayland Arrested for Public Drunk and Disorderly, Wayland In Violent Altercation With Paparazzi_. Clary's lips flattened into a straight line at those, but she didn't look at all surprised. " _At the moment he has been linked with reality TV star, Kaelie Whitewillow, and the two of them have a notoriously tumultuous relationship_." There were photos of them fighting in public, and then more headlines about possible cheating scandals which were supposedly backed up with more photos of Jace, this time with multiple other woman.

"Okay," Clary grabbed the remote from him. "I think I'm done now." She turned off the TV and took in a deep breath, letting it out through her nose. Simon didn't say anything for a moment before squeezing her shoulders and kissing the side of her head.

"Just so you know, I like you as the boring, normal person," he told her.

"Yeah," Clary nodded. "I like me better like this too."

 _I wanted to take a moment to rave about a couple of things I've watched on Netflix. Obviously, there's_ Jessica Jones _. Okay, I know, I know, I'm a total Marvel freak, but it's amazing! I've had a few friends who aren't into Marvel at all who watched and they were in love. The second is a documentary,_ Hot Girls Wanted. _It's kinda...Sad and shit, but it's really good. About girls who get into amateur porn and don't really know what they're getting themselves into. And then_ Sense8. _Ohmygod._ Sense8. _It is absolutely incredible. I wasn't into it at first, but I stuck with it, and we binged on the whole season in the weekend. It was unlike anything else I've watched, and I definitely recommend._

 _Oh shit!_ AND I SAW _Captain America: CIVIL WAR_ LAST WEEKEND! _Holy shit. Just as good as I had hoped. Couple of things I was a little iffy on but *sighs dreamily* it was very good. Sebastian Stan and Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner all in one movie makes me very happy :) So if anyone is a Marvel fan and wants to fangirl, don't hold back! Especially if you want to fangirl about Stucky or Sebastian Stan talking in Russian or Wanda, who I absolutely fell in love with in this movie._

But especially Sebastian talking in Russian, that was like a religious experience.

 _Let me know what you think, reviews make me super happy, plus it's my birthday! And let me know if you want a preview xx_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey guys! There's a couple of things that I need to say and they're kinda serious/sad/angry/whatever so I thought I'd get them over with at the beginning, and then my authors note at the end would be a happy one :) So if you guys wanted to skip forward, totally understandable._

 _The first thing; there's been some real negative reviews going around. Everyone gets them, it's going to happen. It totally sucks, but it's unavoidable. But some people have been going out of their way to leave insanely long, detailed descriptions as to what they hate about stories and, come on, that's just unnecessary. I try to just delete flames and not think about them, they suck and sometimes I get a little pissed off and discouraged, but I try to ignore them. Sometimes it really gets to writers though, and they get mental blocks and choose to stop writing. Can we please just be nice? Constructive criticism—absolutely, but there's a difference. Remember we write for free, and for fun! Come on, everyone!_

 _The second thing; I try not to mention world events on here or even on my social media account for several reasons. But I did want to say I was so upset when I heard about Christina Grimmie dying! I have listened to her on YouTube for years, and I was actually listening to her the morning that I found out she was shot. It's so horrible. I think what freaks me out is I've just listened to her for so long, and she's the same age as me, and it just so scary...It's just not okay :(_

Jace Wayland let out a long breath as he looked around his apartment. He had felt a ridiculous amount of relief for being back in his own place after six months of bouncing between locations during the final stages of filming for his new movie. He absolutely loved his job. He loved what it gave him. He loved that two weeks ago he was in Italy, and the month before that he was in Thailand.

But he loved being back in his apartment.

In his home.

His penthouse apartment was a sanctuary. He only ever allowed his close friends and family here, and of course, his agent and godmother, Charlotte Branwell. He slept with so many woman he lost count, but none of them came back to his apartment, he would take them to fancy hotels and let them order whatever they wanted from room service and make sure they felt treated right. He had had girlfriends who came back to his apartment, although it was only when they were serious—or as serious as he ever got with girls. The girl he had been seeing for the past few months had come over a few times, but only because she was insistent, not really because he wanted to.

Because his apartment was his.

Unfortunately, he couldn't really take any more time to enjoy being back in the familiarity of his home because he was meeting a couple of his friends in town in about an hour. He was going to feel absolutely horrible tomorrow, because he was ridiculously jet-lagged and then he was going to be undoubtedly hungover, and he had a press conference at two o'clock to promote his new movie with his pretty co-star. He kind of wanted to blow off meeting his friends, but he hadn't seen them in months and he had promised that he would go out tonight.

The phone next to the front door rang shrilly and Jace walked over to pick it up, pressing it to his ear.

"Jace," he stated.

"Mr Wayland," it was Mr Peter Goldwyn, his regular driver when he was in town. "I understand that you need my services tonight?"

"Yeah, thanks, Pete," Jace replied. "Could you be here in about half an hour?"

"I will be there, Mr Wayland," Peter answered, his voice as neutral as ever.

"You've been my driver for three years, Pete. You can call me Jace," he had said this to Peter pretty much every time they spoke, and the outcome was always the same.

"I will be there, Mr Wayland," Peter repeated, but there was a slight lift in his tone this time before the call ended. Jace hung up the phone and his eyes shifted from from the phone to the painting that was hanging next to it. The canvas was large and scattered and smeared with grey and dusty blue paint, making a gorgeous painting that Jace was pretty sure he would never properly understand or appreciate but that he could still love. He lifted his thumb to touch the corner of the painting, where the painters initials were etched in tiny black letters, _A G_. Jace cleared his throat and dropped his hand, shoving it into his jeans and then walking toward his bedroom.

His eyes were lowered, and he didn't look at the paintings that lined his hallway, all with the same initials in the corner.

 _A G._

* * *

Jace sighed as he looked around the crowded club. He was tired and people were going crazy around him, and he was supposed to be a part of all of this. There were girls on either side, and there were a dozen more who were giving him and his two friends fuck-me eyes on the dance floor. Bartholomew Velasquez and Jordan Kyle were enjoying the attention, like they always did, but Jace just wanted to go home. He always felt this way after filming had wrapped up—as though all of his energy had been sapped and he could sleep for a month straight.

But it was expected of him to be here.

It was expected of him to go out, be the party boy that everyone said he was, leave the club with girl on each arm.

So he complied.

He accepted the free drinks that the club kept bringing over to him, and then he let a brunette drag him onto the dance floor. He lost track of how long they danced for, and he had to admit that he started having a better time. It was kind of hard not to have at least a little bit of fun when there was a hot, dark haired chick grinding her ass against your groin and you had alcohol flowing through your veins.

"Get that look off your face, man!" Jordan cried as he slumped down on the plush couch next to Jace and threw an arm around him. Jace gave him a grin, that was tired but still sincere.

"Hey, I'm just tired! I had a ten hour flight!"

"Eh, you've been on longer," Jordan volleyed back with a smirk as he reached forward to the expensive wooden table in front of them, picking up the expensive bottle of patron that was sitting there amongest the sticky tumblers and the half smoked cigarettes. "And you're always on the best flights and in first class, so it's pretty much like you're in an expensive, flying lounge—you really have nothing to complain about!" Jace laughed as Jordan poured the pair of them shots and handed him one. "Bottoms up." The pair of them clinked their glasses together and swallowed back the liquid.

"What are you two doing up here?!" Bat asked, his words slurred together as he came over to where they were, one of his arms slung around a bleached blonde girl who's lipstick was smeared, most of it on Bat's mouth. "There are most definitely better places to be than on a couch and watching the fun."

"We were going to go back to my place," the blonde spoke up, her voice a little squeaky, her eyes skimming over Jordan and then settling on Jace, the flare of interest in her face clear. "You guys want to come?"

"And what's back at your place, darling?" Bat asked, his voice syrupy, leaning in and pressing his lips to her neck. She giggled and tilted her head to the side to give him better access, but her eyes were still on Jace. Jace kept the smile plastered on his face, although it no longer reached his eyes. Jordan was a drummer for a reasonably well known band called Six Shades Deep and Bat was an actor as well, had been in his fair share of movies that had done well in the box office, but he wasn't as famous or as good looking as Jace.

Which meant a lot of the time, any of the girls that were around his friends, were really mainly interested in him. That wasn't all of the time, but it was a lot of the time.

It got a little tiring after a while.

And besides, Jace might not have too many rules around how he lived his life, but he didn't cut his friends lunch. Bat was interested in this girl, likely only for one night of fun, but whatever the case, Jace wasn't going to go anywhere near her. So if she thought that she had a chance with him, then she was sorely mistaken.

"Well, I live with three other girls," she began, her voice suggestive as she wiggled against Bat's side. "And we've got lots of alcohol and other, uh, party supplies back at our place." _Drugs_ , Jace almost rolled his eyes at that. She meant drugs. They were all adults, she could say the word out loud. "And I've got a few other friends who would be happy to come back and keep us all company." She glanced over her shoulder to a couple of girls who were huddled in a group a few feet away, all smiling coyly in their direction.

"I'm down," Jordan piped up, a smirk on his face as he jerked his chin upwards in a greeting at the girls who all giggled behind their hands. Eyes all shifted to Jace, who tried not to let his disinterest at the situation show on his face.

He was tired.

He wanted to sleep.

In his own bed.

By himself.

"Look, I'm beat," he began, giving his friends apologetic smiles as they both groaned. "We'll catch up later, yeah?"

"You sure you don't want to come? We don't have to stay for long," Jordan wheedled but Jace just shook his head. "Okay, man. You've got that interview thing tomorrow, right? You want to go out for a beer after?"

"Sounds good," Jace nodded and leaned in for a quick, one armed hug before getting up. The girl under Bat's arm looked disappointed, although she definitely piped up a little bit when Jace stopped in front of them to give Bat a fist bump and he flashed her a short smile. "Nice meeting you," he nodded at her before he was winding his way out of the club. They were sitting in the VIP area, which was sectioned off and had guards subtly standing every few meters, but the dance floor itself was flooded with any regular club members. It was dark, and most people were drunk or drugged up out of their minds, and so he kept his head down and his hair obscuring his face and hoped that he wouldn't be noticed.

Charlotte had long ago given up on trying to force him to take a body guard with him when he went out, but she absolutely insisted on him having Peter as his only driver. He completely understood why she wanted him to have a body guard, he had been mobbed by half crazed fans on more than one occasion, but that didn't mean he liked a baby sitter on steroids following him around and watching every move. Places like this were good though; they were used to a high end clientele and they kept heavy security around the place.

"Not a late one, then, sir?" Peter commented as Jace slid into the back of the town car. He had text Peter about half an hour ago saying to be ready, he wasn't going to be much longer, and as usual, his driver was right there when he needed him.

"Not tonight, Pete," Jace murmured, giving a tired smile before closing his eyes as he dropped his head against the cushion of the backseat. He took in a deep breath, ignoring the lights of his home city as they danced against the tinted window pane, his only thought of getting home, crawling into bed, the paintings on his walls the only thing to keep him company.

 _Happier authors note! I promise! A lot of people keep recommending_ War of Hearts _by Ruelle in the reviews. I do love Ruelle, and I love that song, although it's not my favourite by her. Thought that I would just recommend it though, since obviously lots of you guys love it! Other ones that I'm in love with at the moment_ Ritual _by Adam Jensen and_ Rust _by Stalgia. Also a cover of Justin Bieber's_ Sorry _by Our Last Night._

 _Let me know what you guys are listening to! I want to know!_

 _Also, there's been a few more questions about my updating schedule. It's on my profile, people. Check it out._

 _Leave a review, make my day, and I'll send you a preview :) xx_


	3. Chapter 3

_We've got a bit more background in this chapter before we go forward :)_

The interview went just like all the other ones, and Jace played up well for the cameras. He had never had any problems with charming the pants off any woman that he was sat in front of, and he felt a whole lot better today than he had yesterday after getting a full nights rest. Peter showed up two hours before before the interview, taking him to the studio where he got his make up and hair done, and was then put in front of Charlotte Branwell. She was getting older, but she was still more competent that most agents in the business, and she had a strong client base.

But Jace would always come first.

After the interview, Charlotte got in the town car with him, telling Peter to take her firm before dropping Jace off at the exclusive little bar that Jace was meeting with Jordan.

"How are you doing, love?" Charlotte asked, turning in the seat so that she could look properly at Jace.

"I'm fine," Jace replied automatically. Charlotte was silent and Jace sighed as he looked over at her, meeting her gaze. She raised an eyebrow at him knowingly.

"Let's try that again—how are you doing, love?" She repeated. Jace rubbed a hand over his face and shrugged.

"I'm just...I'm tired," he didn't know how else to explain it, mainly because he didn't totally understand the way his body and his mind felt right now. He had been feeling like this for a while now, although most of the time he could bury it, especially when he was in the middle of filming because he had something to completely distract himself with. But now that he was back in New York, and Charlotte had forced him to take a break, so his next movie didn't start for about six months. He would still have interviews, conventions and promotional press, but that still gave him some down time.

"You're tired?" Charlotte murmured, reaching out and flicking her fingers through his shaggy fringe in a motherly way that had always comforted him. There had only been one other woman who had done that to him, and that was Jocelyn Morgenstern, but it had been a long time since he had been around her.

"I think I just really need that break," he gave her a tired smile.

"You better make sure you actually take it," Charlotte told him firmly. "Pre-production of Rogue City has only just started. You've got at least four months before the interviews and promo press begin and I want you to get out of the city. I want you to go to some beach and get a tan and ignore phone calls from that wretched girlfriend of yours."

"Hey," Jace's voice had a slightly warning twinge to it but he was smiling in amusement; Charlotte had always made her dislike of Kaelie Whitewillow clear, and Jace let it go most of the time because the thing he had going with the reality TV star wasn't particularly serious.

"Why don't you go and see your family?" Charlotte suggested softly.

"My cousins?" Jace asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yes," Charlotte looked out the window as she felt the car slowing down, and saw that they were outside the twenty storied building where her firms office took up the top two floors. "Go and see them, I know that they've both got kids running around now that you don't see nearly enough—in fact, how long has it been?"

"Two years," Jace said quietly, stabbing two of his fingers into his thigh. His cousins had always been a bit of a touchy subject, given how much he had loved them when he was younger and how their relationship had pretty much dissolved as he had gotten older. When his parents were alive, they spent a lot of time with Celine's brother and his wife and children. Charlotte had been the one who had took him in when his parents had died, but he had still spent a hell of a lot of time with the Lightwoods. Things had just...After City of Glass he had only been able to see them during the breaks of filming, or when they came into the city to visit when their school was on break. They had still managed to find times to meet up, but then after his career had blown out, it had just gotten harder.

He had ended up doing blockbusters on the off season of the TV show, which meant he had less time for everyone in his life, no matter how important.

Things with his cousins and pretty much everyone else in his life had just sort of faded into the background.

"You know that you're my best client," Charlotte told him as she put her hand on the handle of the door. "But before you were ever my client, you were my god son. And I care about your well being. And these past few years—since you were a teenager, in fact—you've just never slowed down. Maybe that's what you need to do. Take some time for yourself."

"You know as well as I do that I can't take too much time off," Jace gave her a small smile. "This business doesn't wait for anyone." Charlotte didn't respond, because Jace was right, she just gave him a short nod and then got out of the car, closing the door behind her. The car pulled smoothly away from the curb, merging together with the crazy afternoon traffic. Peter had heard every word of the conversation, but his job was all about discretion and giving complete and utter privacy to whoever was in his town car, and so his eyes were kept forward. They were almost at the bar when Jace's phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and gave the screen a wary glance, fully prepared to send the caller straight to voice mail.

Gregory Jensen.

"Hey, man," Jace greeted him, his eyes widening in surprise. "You got something for me?"

"Yeah, I do," Gregory replied. "You know your girl?"

"Kaelie?" Jace scrunched up his nose. He had never had Gregory look into Kaelie. Charlotte had taken care of the simple background check, but there really wasn't much to her. She was a bimbo, she liked attention, and she was more than happy to air all of their relationship drama on the trashy show that she used to be on. He was glad that the show had ended, because he was less than interested in having the world know his business. But she was fun, and she didn't expect much, and so they kind of worked.

"No, not your girlfriend," Gregory answered with a snort. "I would be insulted if you ever asked me to look into her. No real challenge."

"Yeah, yeah," Jace let out a laugh, rolling her eyes. "You're the best PI in the city. Now, who are you talking about?"

"Your painter girl," Gregory replied, and Jace froze in his seat, swallowing hard. "Yeah, she's got a showing in the city in two weeks time. Thought maybe you'd want to know."

"Where?" He breathed into the phone.

* * *

 _Downworlder_ was a gorgeous and very high end restaurant run by Magnus Bane. It was well known throughout Los Angeles, one of the most exclusive places to get into and it had a waiting list about two months long. And then there was Clary, who had batted her eyelashes at the guard at the back door, who knew her well and let her past, and was now distracting the kitchen staff and the chefs. Mainly; Magnus.

"You doing okay over there, biscuit?" Magnus called out over the crashing and banging of utensils as he moved around the large kitchen.

"I'm good!" Clary assured him from where she was sitting on a bar stool behind one of the long, stainless steel benches.

"Well, something is clearly on your mind, given it's ten o'clock on a Saturday night and you're here rather than out at some club or having some kind of life," Magnus raised his eyebrows at her as he reached past her to pick up one of the razor sharp knives that freaked Clary out a bit every time she saw it spinning in Magnus' skilled fingers.

"Since when have you ever known me to go out to a club?" Clary snorted.

"You're young, you're hot—you should be at a club!" Magnus told her as the knife blurred as it sliced and diced one onion after another.

"Eh, I got better things to be doing with my time," Clary shrugged.

"Like hang around here, annoying me and stealing free food that I'm charging people out there an arm and a leg for?" Magnus fired back at her. She just grinned back at him, and dunked her finger into a bowl of his famous mashed potatoes, scooping up some of the mix of potato, herbs and melted cheese and sticking it in her mouth. "That is extremely unsanitary," he gave her a glare that lacked heat.

"Guess that means you're just going to have to give me that bowl then," Clary smirked, knowing that there was no way that Magnus was going to serve it now. He grumbled under his breath and handed it over to her.

"You still haven't told me why you're here and not out getting drunk," he said as he pulled out spoon for her as well.

"I'm babysitting my favorite boys in the morning," Clary grinned as she started shoveling the incredible mashed potatoes into her mouth. "I don't think you want me to be hungover while doing that." Magnus hummed out a noise in agreement and shrugged, but he still kept flicking his eyes over at her, clearly knowing that she was there for a very specific reason. Finally she let out a groan and pursed her lips. "Mum thinks that I should go to the exhibition."

"In New York?" Magnus asked unnecessarily.

"Yup," Clary popped the 'p'.

"She's right," Magnus commented, his tone idle. "You should."

"There's the reason why I haven't gone before," she said.

"Everyone's got their reasons for doing things," Magnus said evenly. Clary narrowed her eyes at him and he flashed a toothy grin. "How about this," he began, looking over his shoulder to where his second in charge, Ragnor Fell, was screaming up a storm at some poor newbie who had apparently overcooked a chicken dish. "Give me ten minutes. Then I'll have Ragnor take over and we'll get some chocolate and berry mousse and I'll take a break."

"You're perfection, Magnus," Clary announced.

"Oh, yes," Magnus smiled at her. "I'm very aware of that."

 _Oh my god, so I re-watched_ What A Girl Wants _in the weekend, it came up on my Netflix. Forgot how much I loved the movie. And—holy shit—I realized it came out thirteen years ago! I feel so old. I can't even remember the amount of times I watched it when I was about twelve or thirteen. I also had a massive crush on Oliver James, it was ridiculous. But he was just such a babe! And he had a guitar and a motorbike, which was just so cool when you were a teenager ;) Haha. Oh and a couple of songs from there which I'm in love with is_ Half Life _by Duncan Sheik and_ Ride of Your Life _the cover by Oliver James._

 _Also, side note, I'm thinking about a werewolf AU. Can you tell I've been reading too much_ Teen Wolf _? Haha. But what's your thinking? Jace would be an Alpha and Clary would be human. What are your thoughts?_

 _Please leave a review, and let me know what you think :) I'll send you a preview for a review :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_A lot of you guys have wanted an update, so here we go!_

"Hey, mum," Clary called out as her Skype call was answered. She waited a moment, the screen still all dark and kind of blurry, and then the screen was jerking back and forth and there was a bright light and Clary blinked, shielding her eyes a little. "Oh my _god_ , mum, where are you skyping from? And do you seriously still not know how to use the webcam?!"

"We're in Greece!" Jocelyn Greymark's voice called back to her, although Clary still hadn't seen a visual of her mother yet, now just staring up at blue, cloudless sky.

"How are you this inept with technology?" Came a low, teasing voice and then the camera was moving again before it steadied out and Jocelyn and Luke Greymark came into view. "How you doing, sweetheart?"

"Hey, Luke," Clary gave a little wave at the pinpoint of the camera at the top of her computer. "How are you guys doing? Let me see where you are! It looks so sunny there!" Luke picked up the laptop that they were using and he turned it to face outward. They were on a balcony of the hotel, and the sun was shining down brightly. It looked as though they were up on a cliff, because Luke went right to the edge of their balcony and tipped the computer slightly and it showed a gorgeous beach below, waves crashing against the rocks. "Wow," she blinked as he panned around, showing Clary the rest of the view before walking back over to where Jocelyn was sitting and putting down the laptop on the little table. "It looks amazing."

"It is, baby, it's absolutely incredible," Jocelyn gushed. "You need to come out here sometime. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that there are only about five sunny days in total in Seattle, and you know that Vitamin D is good for everyone."

"I will, mum," Clary smiled as she braced her elbow against her table top and rested her chin in her open palm before wiggling her nose and smirking. "Although that's not the Vitamin D I'm after—"

"Clary!" Jocelyn gasped with a laugh while Luke just rolled his eyes. There was a few yells behind Clary and then there were two dark haired children sprinting into the lounge where she was sitting and she laughed, turning away from her computer to look at the two boys.

"Is that your mum, Aunty Clary?!" Isaac Bane-Lightwood jumped up and down next to her, peering into the camera. "Hi, Jocelyn!" He announced, waving at the camera, giving a toothy smile. "Hi, Luke!"

"Hey, little man," Luke grinned as he looked through the screen and waved. "How you doing? You having fun with your Aunty Clary?"

"Yeah!" Isaac grinned and started listing all the things that they had done this morning, meanwhile his brother, Rhys Bane-Lightwood, tugged at Clary's jersey pocket and asked if he could have something to eat. Once Isaac had finished talking to an attentive Jocelyn and Luke, and Clary had cut up an apple into quarters for Rhys, they skipped back over to the adjoining lounge to watch a movie.

"God, they're getting so big!" Jocelyn looked a little teary eyed.

"You're so sentimental, mum," Clary teased and rolled her eyes. Jocelyn started telling her about what they had been doing over the past week since they had last spoken while Luke flitted in and out of the camera. After about twenty minutes, Jocelyn folded her arms on the top of the table she was sitting at and fixed Clary with her serious 'mum' look. Clary knew what was coming before she even said anything and she sighed. "Do we really have to do this again, mum?"

"Well? Have you made your decision yet?" Jocelyn asked. Clary shook her head mutely. Jocelyn sighed and turned her head for a moment to listen to something that Luke was saying. It sounded as though he was saying something like 'just let our girl make her own decision' but then Jocelyn rolled her eyes at that and looked back to Clary. "I think it would be a good idea, to go back to New York. Even if you just go for your exhibit, and then leave. Going back to New York will be good for you—it's home!"

"No. _This_ is my home, mum," Clary retorted. "Home doesn't have anything to do with a place, it's to do with people." Jocelyn gave her an understanding smile and nodded.

"I know, baby," she murmured. "But I still think that you should go. Besides," she continued. "You've never been to one of your exhibits. I've gone to a couple, and I know that Izzy, Simon, Alec and Magnus have all gone, but _you've_ never gone. Your art is gorgeous, baby, and you deserve to go and see it hanging up for the world to see." Clary licked her lips and swallowed hard, ducking her head at that. "You've worked far too hard not to be able to see what it looks like, hanging on beautiful walls for people to enjoy." She went quiet, waiting for Clary's response, and when she didn't get one, she leaned in closer to the camera. "I love you, baby."

"I know, mum," Clary's smile was a little wobbly. "I love you too." Luke came back into the screen and he rested his hand on top of the computer.

"I think it's time for us to head down to the beach, sweetheart," he said, but he was clearly saving Clary from further uncomfortable conversation. "We'll speak with you again soon." Clary gave him a smile of relief before waving at the pair of them, the screen going dark when they ended the call. She continued staring at the dark screen for a few more moments before she heard calls coming from Rhys and Isaac.

"Let's watch _Zootopia_ , Aunty Clary!" Isaac yelled, bouncing up and down excitedly on the couch.

"Yeah—can we watch _Zootopia_?!" Rhys chimed in and Clary laughed as she closed her laptop. Isaac was the eldest at six, and Rhys was four, and the two were brothers. They had been adopted by Magnus and Alec when Isaac was two and Rhys was a couple of months old, their parents had been killed in a car accident and they didn't have any close relatives. Magnus and Alec doted on the boys, and they had quickly become a part of the extended family.

"Okay, I think I've got it on one of my hard drives," Clary smiled at them as she picked up her iPad and walked over to them.

"You do have it on one of your hard drives, Aunty Clary. But you should get the DVD because of the pictures," Rhys stated as he sat back down on the couch, kicking out his little feet that were hanging over the edge of the couch. "I know you have it because we watched it with you before and you cried."

"I did not!" Clary protested, shooting a mock-frown over her shoulder at the two boys.

"Yes, you did!" Isaac laughed. "When Nick had the muzzle put on him when he was a baby fox!"

"Yeah, well, that part is sad!" Clary protested as she plugged in the correct hard drive and then moved back to sit on the couch. Rhys sat in the middle, with his brother on one side and Clary on the other. Rhys curled his legs up underneath him and leaned into Clary while Isaac spread out of his legs on the couch and rested his arm across his brothers shoulders. The movie started and the boys stared at the screen intently. Clary watched with them for the first hour, and then turned on her iPad and tapped in her pass code.

One of the things that she, along with many other actors and actresses and singers, was that googling herself was never a good idea. It had been a long time since she had, mainly because there wasn't all that much new about her, except for the occasional paparazzi sighting. But after the re-run of the _Where Are They Now?_ program was on, she couldn't help but wonder if anything else had come up. Even though she knew it wasn't any good, her fingers itched to tap her name in, and when she did, there were some recent hits that came up.

She clicked on one website that had streamed the re-run and there were comments underneath. There were a couple saying that they had really enjoyed their original show, _City of Glass_ , others that said her and Jace had made such a good couple and they were disappointed when they had broken up. There were a few more that said they were pretty sure they had seen her around, which may or may not be correct, because it wasn't as though she was hiding exactly, just keeping a low profile. There were lots that were raving about Jace's new movie, saying that he looked badass and it was going to be awesome. The name of it was _Rogue City,_ and she typed that into her search bar.

A ton of hits came up, with promotional pictures and a trailer. She licked her lower lip as she saw the photos, her finger hovering over one article that apparently went into an interview that he had had this morning, promoting the film.

But she didn't click on it.

For a year or so after she had left the Hollywood scene, she couldn't help it. Clary had needed to follow everything Jace was doing; the new movies he was in, the photo shoots, the news reports, the fansites. But it wasn't good for her, even as she was doing it she knew that it wasn't helping her move on with her life. Eventually she stopped.

She couldn't do it halfway either, she had to completely stop, sever the tie. So she purposefully set her computer to block anything with his name, didn't go and see any of his new movies and wouldn't talk about him with her mum or her friends. It took a few years, but eventually it didn't hurt quite as much. She was proud of everything that he had accomplished and she was glad that she had gotten to be a small part of that.

The way that it had ended, with the sex tape being sprawled over the internet and trashy TV shows, had been a lot for her to get over, but it didn't mean she had loved him any less.

 _I wanted to say a big thank you to all you beautiful reviewers. Seriously. I love writing, and the support I get from you guys encourages that love. You're the reason I write so much and so often, and am willing to try new ideas and things like that, so a massive thank you to all you guys :)_

 _Also, I wanted to say that I've loved the support your guys have had toward my new stories. If you haven't already had a look at the short synopsis, they are up on my profile. Your feedback in reviews and in the private messages have been awesome, it's great to talk about them with you guys! If you guys have any requests or anything specific you guys want to see, let me know, and I'll see if it's something that I can work in._

 _Now! Guess what? I've been married two years. What. The Fuck? I feel way to young for that. LOL. But yeah, it's our anniversary next week. So that's pretty awesome :)_

 _Other awesome things are; the TV show_ Designated Survivor _. I've been in love with Keifer Sutherland since_ 24 _, and Maggie Q is in it, and she's fucking badass, although maybe not quite as badass as in_ Nikita _. The song_ I Hate You, I Love You _by Gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien. OMG. I'm addicted. And I've been blasting the cover of_ Lean On _by Openside every time I'm in my car. I heard it live and had to download it as soon as I got home. It is FUCKING AMAZING, as you would know if we're friends on snapchat because I've sent out several of me singing along. Hahahaha._

 _As usual, leave a review, let me know what you think, recommend songs or TV shows or other fics for me to check out. A couple of nice words will go a long way with the shitty week I've had :( I'll send out a preview of the next chapter for anyone logged in :) xx_


	5. Chapter 5

_This is my last update of the year! I just wanted to say a massive thank you to all of your support you guys have shown me and reviews that you have left. I'll be back around February next year, but until then, I'm still able to be reached through here if you send me a PM, or if you wanted to add me on Facebook or Snapchat :) Also, make sure you check out the authors note at the bottom in regards to my upcoming stories._

Jace had been staring down at his phone for the last twenty minutes. He hadn't moved from where he was sitting on the couch, the TV playing mindless in front of him, and he still hadn't decided whether or not to dial the number that was showing on the screen. Finally, he jabbed his finger at the screen and lifted his phone to his ear, taking in a deep breath as he listened to the phone ring. His knee was bouncing up and down, but he went completely still when the ringing stopped and a harried voice answer.

"Yup, Alec speaking."

"Alec!" Jace winced at how forced his jovial tone sounded. "How's everything going?"

" _Jace_?" Alec Lightwood sounded confused. "Uh, hi. I'm...Good?" For a moment, Jace wondered why Alec didn't seem to realize it was him on the other end, but then it clicked that he had changed his phone number—probably a couple of times—since they had last talked. Charlotte made him change his number of a fairly regular basis, and while he made sure to keep all of his contacts, it had been a long time since he had spoken to his cousin, so it made sense that he didn't have his new number.

"Oh, right, uh—new number," Jace explained. "Must not have given it to you yet."

"Well, yeah, that would be right. Given we haven't spoken in about eighteen months," Alec's voice was almost steely and Jace considered ending the conversation right then and there. Saying that he just called to catch up and that something had come up and he needed to go.

But he didn't doubt for a second that Charlotte would grill him about it later, and then he would end up spilling the truth, and she would make him call his cousin back and then he would be in this same awkward place all over again. Except it would be worse, because Charlotte would be glaring at him the whole time.

"I'm sorry we haven't talked," Jace hoped his sincerity was obvious over the phone. "I've been...Busy," that was the lamest excuse in the world, and Alec clearly thought so, because Jace was only met with silence. "Look, I wanted to come out. I wanted to come out and spend some time with you and Izzy," he blurted it out before he could triple-guess himself. Again, with the silence. "I mean, if that's okay—"

"Fine," Alec said shortly. "When will you be getting here? How long will you be staying?" Jace felt his body slump backwards against the couch in relief even though Alec didn't sound particularly happy.

"I've got a few months that Charlotte's got completely clear. So I was just going to take it by air?" It came out as a question, which Jace hated, because usually he was the most confident, self-assured person in thee room.

"And when will you be getting here?" Alec repeated his previous question, and then it sounded as though he dropped the phone when there was yelling in the background. Jace frowned as he tried to identify the noise, and then was surprised when he heard a laugh come from his cousin. "Hey, buddy!" It must be one of his kids. Isaac or Rhys. Jace felt a pang in his chest at that thought. He had only met the boys twice, and that was a couple of years ago. Even though he saw regular photos of them on Facebook, it wasn't the same, and he knew that he needed to make a better effort. "Yeah, I'll be with you in a minute, dad's just gotta finish on the phone." Jace stayed quiet before he heard Alec address him again. "Sorry."

"No, no, that's totally fine," Jace assured him quickly. "Uh, so I'll be coming in about a week and a half. I've got this...This thing that I need to do next week, and then I'll be out after that. I'll talk to Charlotte and find out the flight details, and I'll text them."

"Okay, sounds good," Alec muttered. Jace wet his lips and rubbed them together, wondering if this was the end of their conversation. "Uh..." Alec drew in a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his voice sounded softer. "It'll be good to see you, Jace." Jace felt another wave of relief wash over him and a smile spread across his face. "Let me know when your flight is, and I'll be there to pick you up."

* * *

"Did you want to go out afterwards?" Kaelie Whitewillow asked, not bothering to look up from her phone.

"Not really," Jace replied as he leaned back in the leather seat of the town car, folding his arms over his chest. Peter glanced back at him in the rear view mirror, one of his eyebrows raised, and Jace couldn't help the small smile on his face that Kaelie completely missed because she was so absorbed in taking snapchats and posting them. Peter might just be his driver, but they had become friends a long time ago, and even though Peter still remained professional on most occasions, but he had let his dislike for the blonde slip a few times.

"Why not? We haven't gone out in ages," Kaelie pouted for a split second over the top of her phone before returning her attention back to the device.

"We're going out right now," Jace pointed out, hoping that this was going to end in a fight.

"Yeah, but not, like, out-out," Kaelie said snippily.

"I don't know what you mean," Jace murmured, resting his hands on his knees and keeping his gaze forward. Peter wasn't the only one in the front seat, there was also a body guard, Thomas Rhodes, who Charlotte would not relent on when going out with Kaelie. Security was easier when it came to just Jace and his few closest friends, because they never announced where they were going, but Kaelie was adamant about making her 'fans' all aware whenever she was going to make a public appearance. At least Thomas was nice enough, even if he rarely said anything.

"I mean, let's go to a club after," Kaelie looked up with a grin, her eyes widening. "Ooh! We could go to _Shadowhunter_! I went there last week with Seelie, and it was incredible, you'll love it!"

Which, Jace didn't doubt, meant that he would absolutely hate it.

It was probably flooded with paparazzi, and ridiculous music, and second tier celebrities who were more famous for their scandals that any actual work they did.

"Can we just do dinner and then take it from there?" Jace hoped that his voice was calm as he reached out a hand to rest it on her arm. Kaelie did that pout thing about that she seemed to think was going to work on him, but Jace just gave her another small smile before his hand dropped back to the seat. Kaelie went back to her phone, as usual, and Jace took in a deep breath through his nose.

The relationship was Kaelie could be described as a publicity stunt at best.

That was definitely how it had been worded by the media for the first few months that they had been linked together.

Jace had never really had a serious relationship, other than what was well publicized when he was a teenager with Clary. After the break up, and her subsequent disappearance, Jace had completely thrown himself into work. Charlotte hadn't been lying when she had said to him the other day that he needed to take a break because he was working too hard. He had hardly ever paused to take a breath in the past ten years. He didn't want to take a breather.

He had had multiple flings with high profile actresses, singers and socialites, and while he had made sure to be very up front with what he wanted—or more specifically, what he didn't want—but that hadn't stopped some things from ending nasty.

In the past year, Charlotte had taken him aside and said that she thought it was time that he see someone seriously. Well, either start seeing someone seriously, or stop with the bouncing around, because he was starting to get a reputation, and it wasn't a good one. It wasn't that Jace had planned to settle down with Kaelie, and he hadn't, not really, it's just they met at a couple of events and hooked up, and then Charlotte had talked to him, and it had just seemed easy.

It was now about six months in, and while Jace knew that what he had with Kaelie wasn't anything that was going to last forever, he was comfortable where they were for now. Kaelie liked being linked to a big star, it boosted her popularity, especially since the reality show she had been starring in had been cancelled. Jace liked it because it kept Charlotte happy, even though she wasn't a fan of Kaelie herself, and because Kaelie was easy enough to keep happy, easy to understand.

It worked for now.

Sometimes Kaelie demanded more attention that he could really give with his schedule, and this had resulted in a couple of very public arguments, but he managed to keep it under wraps most of the time. This meant that the tabloids got bored and starting making things up, like flings and affairs, but Jace had never strayed. Kaelie may have but she was smart enough to keep it quiet, more because she wouldn't want to be painted in a bad light, not because she thought Jace would get hurt. Because he definitely wouldn't be.

Dinner was stilted at best, it mainly revolved around Kaelie taking her photos of her food and then pushing it around her plate, and Jace making small talk. This was meant to be the dinner when he told her that he needed some space, needed to get away from this whole scene for a while, that they needed to take a break. Jace pursed his lips and wondered if this should really be happening in a public place, because if there was one thing Kaelie knew how to do, it was to make a scene.

"Kaelie," Jace eventually said, as he was finishing off his caramel and raspberry cheesecake. "There's something we need to talk about." Clearly the seriousness in his tone was conveyed because Kaelie put down the fork she was using to stab at her own slice of cheesecake and look over at him.

"What's going on?" Kaelie asked with a calculating arch of her eyebrow, her eyes narrowing a little. Jace stared at her for a beat and then relaxed his face into an easy smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"It's nothing big," Jace began. "It's just I'm going out of town end of next week, and I'm not sure how long I'm going to be there."

"But you just got back! I thought that you didn't have any other movies lined up for the next few months, when you start on that indie feature!" Kaelie's eyes brightened. "Ooh, have you just got another role? What's it about? Do you know any of the other stars cast?" The questions were being fired out in quick succession and Jace blinked across at her, not sure which one to answer first. "Can I come to this one? I would love to be on set, I could be your personal cheerleader," she gave him a sultry smile and he felt her leg touch his under the table. "And then I could help you relax in your trailer...Change outfits and all that," her foot was inching it's way up her leg and Jace finally interrupted her.

"No, it's not another movie. I don't have one until _Heavenly Fire_ ," he told her. "No, I'm going to spend some time with my family." Kaelie looked taken aback by that.

"Your family?"

"Yeah, my cousins and their kids," he replied.

"Why?" It was sad just how confused Kaelie looked. "You've barely ever mentioned them. I thought you guys must not get along or something." Jace just shrugged, not wanting to get into that conversation, about how it wasn't as though he saw them going anywhere, so he wasn't going to open up about the most important people in his life. "Okay, well, how long are you going to be gone?"

"I'm not too sure," Jace answered honestly. Kaelie didn't particularly happy but she nodded and picked up her glass of wine.

So the conversation hadn't quite gone as planned, but at least she hadn't gotten too upset about him leaving the city so soon after coming back. As long as he made a few appearances with her before them, assuring the public that they were still together, she would be happy. Once again, she was easy to ready and keep happy.

Kaelie ended up taking a town car to the club that she had been trying to convince Jace to go to, and Jace had gone home alone. It was nearing eleven o'clock, which was usually when his nights actually began, but he just wanted to go to bed. He showered and undressed, falling into his bed and turning on the TV that was mounted on the wall. He flicked through the channels before finally finding a re-run of one of the _CSI'_ s and then laid back on his pillows, half watching, half falling asleep. An hour later, as he was fumbling for the remote to turn off the TV, his hand bumped against a small painting that he had framed on the bedside table and he paused to glance at it.

It was the same style to all of the paintings that were on his walls, but this one was a little cruder, not quite as mature. He had had this one since he was sixteen, a lot longer than all the other paintings, but this one meant so much more to him.

 _Now, something that I wanted to ask everyone, is if you can all check out the upcoming stories on my profile, and let me know what your top three picks would be? Just so I have an idea of the ones that people are looking forward to and can focus on those :)_

 _The things that I'm into at the moment are Charles/Erik from_ X-Men _, the reboot trilogy, with Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy. Holy shit. So beautiful. Completely obsessed. And then it's like I've become re-obsessed with Derek/Stiles from_ Teen Wolf. _The songs I've had on replay are_ Can't Fight This Feeling _by Justin Timberlake, which I know has been completely overplayed, but it's just such a happy song, I'm totally in love! And the second one is_ Last Night On Earth _by Delta Goodrem, which is just so sweet. And the last one is_ Give It Up To Me _by Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole, an old one._

 _Right! So, I'll be back next year, pretties :) Until then, one last review? Pretty please? And I'll send out a preview :)_

 _Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you all :) xxx_


	6. Chapter 6

_Okay! So I'm back! And I'm back early, you may notice! I was planning to update until next week but I've had so many reviews and messages on here and on Facebook asking for me to post earlier, so here we go! Uh, I've also had a lot of people asking why I decided to take a break for a while—almost two months! Holy shit! I'll keep it brief so you can get on with reading...1) Life! Real life always comes first and it's been super busy. 2) Health. This definitely comes into the 'real life' category, but something that some of you will know is I deal with some insane headaches and migraines on an almost weekly basis and at times work is draining enough, I can't come home and sit in front of my computer and type/edit. 3) Response. So many of you guys are incredible. FUCKING INCREDIBLE. But that doesn't discount the occasional nasty review or message which really hits home when I spend so much time pouring my heart into these stories :(_

 _Anyway, on with the story!_

His flight was tomorrow at eleven thirty, and Charlotte had organized for Peter to pick him up early in the morning so that he got to the private airstrip on time. Tonight, however, he had an art exhibition to go to. Charlotte didn't know anything about this event he was going to tonight, no one did except for Gregory, who had been the one to get him all the details he needed. It wasn't really the kind of event where he needed to be worried about security, at least he didn't think so. He just needed to keep his head down and try not to draw too much attention. Peter had agreed to come and get him, even though he usually didn't work nights if he was taking Jace somewhere in the morning.

It was a black tie event, so he had called Terry Campbell, his go-to wardrobe woman, and she had sent over a simple suit for him to wear. It was black pants, black button down shirt and a maroon jacket. He showered, got dressed and ran some mousse through his hair, shaking it out, falling around his face. He got a call at eight, telling him that Peter was waiting for him downstairs and he left his apartment, taking the elevator down from the pent house. Peter greeted him and gave him a smile, and Jace gave him the address for the art gallery. When they got there, Peter raised his eyebrows after a few minutes had passed and Jace still hadn't got out of the car.

"Is this the right address?" Peter checked as he looked out the window. It wasn't a huge exhibition, which Jace was glad about, and the gallery it was in wasn't one of the massive rooms in the middle of the city, but he knew it was the right place because there was a sign outside, elegant script announcing that the showing for Adele Greymark.

"Yeah, this is the right place," Jace let out a heavy breath. Peter was quiet for another minute, but then turned around in his seat.

"This is only a loading zone, Mr Wayland," Peter reminded him gently. "If you want me to take a drive around the block for you to gather your thoughts, we can do that, but I can't remain parked here." Jace gave him a nervous smile and put his hand on the door.

"Okay, I've got this," he murmured.

"I'll be back at twelve?" Peter checked.

"Sounds good," Jace replied as he opened up the door and stepped out. The street was busy, but Jace kept his head tilted forward so that his hair partially covered his face, and he hoped that it did enough to keep his identity obscured until he at least got inside. Once he was inside, he only had to worry about the other people there, because the security guards wouldn't let any paparazzi or press in. He nodded at the two bouncers who were on either side of the door leading into the exhibition, and they stared blankly back at him, not showing any sign of recognizing him, although they were more likely just being professional.

Jace appreciated that.

There were quite a few people in the room, all dressed similarly to him. Jace didn't recognize anyone there, which he was thankful for, because all he wanted to do tonight was focus on the paintings hanging on the wall. They were tastefully placed around the room, and there were a few thick white pillars throughout the room as well with paintings hanging. There had to be over twenty pieces of art work, in varying sizes and colours, and Jace had to pause for a moment at the feeling that washed over him as he looked around. A waitress came over to where he was standing, giving him a bright smile and offering him a drink. He took a flute of champagne automatically off the tray and then looked back around the gallery.

Adele Greymark.

Also known as Clarissa Morgenstern, although not to many people. Probably to hardly any people, in fact.

He had known that they were the same person the minute he had seen the art work hanging in a restaurant he had gone to on a business dinner about two and a half years ago. He had stared up at the painting on the wall, his mouth open as he looked over the warm reds and oranges that surrounded the silhouette of a woman, her hair splayed out around her. Charlotte had needed to pinch his arm under the table to bring him back to the conversation they were all having, and given him a questioning look.

He hadn't told her what had caught his attention.

Instead, he had hired Gregory, an exclusive PI that was used by a lot of actors and actresses and their agents. Gregory had expected him to be trying to get back some scandalous photos from an ex or trying to dig up dirt on someone, he had been pretty taken aback when all he wanted was to make sure that his ex girlfriend was okay.

And that was all Jace was concerned about.

He had been respectful when Clary had dropped off the scene and hadn't made contact with him, he had given her space even though it had killed him. He hadn't tried to invade her privacy even though he desperately wanted to see her again, or find her, just to simply speak to her again. And then when an appropriate amount of time had past, he had tried to track her down, but he couldn't find anything. It wasn't as though Jace was trained in this area, so all he had was the help of Google and Facebook, but nothing new came up.

So it seemed like fate was giving him a second chance when her painting literally showed up right in front of him.

Gregory hadn't taken long to find her, so apparently she wasn't all that hidden, Jace just had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for. Gregory had come back to him and told him that he had a lot of information, and asked just how much Jace wanted to know. He had thought that he wanted to know everything, but as soon as Gregory and put two recent photos of Clary on the table in front of him, his whole body had seized up and he had almost had a panic attack.

Gregory seemed to understand, and so instead of telling him about the life of Clarissa Morgenstern, he had told him about the life of Adele Greymark, the artist.

She had come onto the scene six years ago, so three and a half years before he had found out about her. There weren't ever any reported meet and greets and she had never come to any of her gallery exhibitions, or if she had, she had never been introduced. All dealings went through her agent, Lydia Branwell, who refused to answer questions about her clients personal life. 'Adele Greymark' had become quite successful, and Jace couldn't be prouder of her. He tried his hardest to buy any of her new works as they came out, although he wasn't always quick enough.

He would definitely be walking away with at least one tonight though.

"You've been standing here a while," came a melodic voice from behind Jace, and his shoulders jerked a little as he was jolted back to the present. "Oh, sorry," there was a laugh from the blonde who was now standing beside him. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, no, it's okay," Jace gave her a tight smile, hoping that she wasn't going to draw attention to them and to who he was. "I was just...Concentrating." The blonde nodded and smiled, and Jace couldn't help but frown slightly, recognizing her from somewhere but not to sure where from.

"It's a beautiful piece," the woman turned back to the photo and Jace thankfully switched his attention back to the canvas on the wall. It was a sunset over an ocean, but the colours were exaggerated, in purples and blues and pinks. There were reflections of the sky in the ocean, the detail incredible, and Jace wanted to reach out and touch the art work, the way it was thicker in some places where she had gone over and over with a paintbrush in one place. His eyes flickered down to the corner, where A G was marked in tiny, black print. "Take one of these," the blonde handed him a glossy booklet, which had a catalog of all the art work, descriptions and prices. "Nothing can be taken home tonight, but if you would like to purchase anything, then my number is on the back." Jace couldn't help but flip to the back of the booklet to where the blondes details were.

Lydia Branwell.

"Wait," Jace called out, wincing a little as he caught the attention of couple of people around them as Lydia turned back to him from where she had been walking away. "You're Lydia? You're—you're her agent, right?" The warm smile on Lydia's face began closing off and a professional mask came over.

"I am," she nodded shortly. Jace licked his lips nervously, closing the distance between them as she glanced around at the people who were in the gallery, and the waitresses who were walking around with finger food.

"Is she..." he swallowed hard. "Is she here?" Lydia's eyes narrowed ever so slightly and Jace shifted from foot to foot. "I mean, I know that she doesn't like to make public appearances and things, but I've heard that she will occasionally go to these sort of things, and I was just wondering if maybe she was here? Because her art work is absolutely incredible, and I would love to be able to tell her that and—and..." he was babbling and Lydia was regarding him with an almost amused expression.

"Mr Wayland," she began, and Jace realized that she had known who he was all along. "I'm sure you understand the want to have privacy. So I hope that you will do the same for the artist." With that, she turned, and continued over to an older couple who were looking at a swirl of black and silver and gold canvas. Jace swallowed hard and breathed out heavily through his nose, looking back down at the booklet in his hand. He flipped through it, finding the art work that he had been looking at and noting the price. It was expensive, but he could afford it, just like he could with all the other paintings in his apartment. He made a note to himself to contact Lydia to purchase the art work.

Jace continued to walk slowly around the gallery, looking at the gorgeous works on the wall. More people came throughout the evening, and the noise level in small gallery rose, a pleasant mixtures of talking and music and laughter. Jace felt comfortable; no one had come over to him, they had all kept a respectable distance, and being surrounded by all the art work on the walls made him feel closer to Clary in a weird way.

It was almost midnight, and Peter had called him to say that he would be there in about ten minutes, when Jace began to make his way toward the door. He was still trying to keep a low profile, head bowed and hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped a little, when he saw her.

 _Clary_.

Jace felt as though he had been punched in the stomach as he caught sight of her, in doorway to one of the backrooms where the waiters kept disappearing to stock their trays back up. She looked absolutely gorgeous, and Jace's whole body was frozen.

Especially since she was staring directly at him, biting down on her plump lower lip.

Jace finally managed to get his legs to move and he began to start walking toward her, his mouth opening to call out to her, except she spun on her heel and almost sprinted into the back room. Jace picked up the pace, ducking around a couple of people and running into the room, which was a kitchen area. He got a dirty look from a waitress that he bumped into, and then another one from the person he assumed to be the caterer, but the girl in the black dress with the red hair an the gorgeous green eyes he had been dreaming about for the past ten years was gone.

 _Right! So...How was it?_

 _I've got lots of recommendations I want to make coz I've been away for so long, but I'll just throw a couple out there. Movies—_ Moana _! It was amazing. So was_ Rogue One _, which I didn't expect to like because I'm not a big fan of Felicity Jones, but it was incredible, and Diego Luna is my new love. And a couple of songs I'm in love with at the moment are_ Falling For You _by Lyon Hart and_ Dangerously _by Charlie Puth._

 _Alright, so, tell me...Did you guys all have an amazing Christmas/New Years? Me and my hubby always travel for Christmas to see extended family, but it was just a quiet one at home with a couple of his family members, so that was nice. And for New Years we rented out a house by the beach with a couple of our close friends, so that was amazing._

 _Tell me what you guys got up to, and leave a review._

 _And if you guys want a preview of the next chapter, just ask, and I'll throw one out there ;) Don't forget to check out the new multi-chapter stories, which you guys all voted on, as well as a bunch of new oneshots I've written. I've gone and put some of them up :)_


	7. Chapter 7

_Yes! They've seen each other! Haha. And now the aftermath of that sighting..._

The flight from New York to Seattle was going to take just a little over six hours. Jace was used to flights a hell of lot longer than this, and he made himself comfortable in first class, tossing back the chips he had been brought on the way in. Charlotte had wanted to send a security detail with him, but he had fought her on that, saying that he wasn't going to be going to any fancy events, he was just going to see his cousins and their kids. She had argued back that there wouldn't be any of the usual security in the places that he went to, like there was in New York, or the in the cities he went to when they were on location for filming, but Jace had stood firm.

He didn't want to make things any more complicated between him and Alec and Isabelle and their families.

Six hours of down time left him a long time to get lost in his thoughts, even though he had brought his iPad with a couple of new movies downloaded so that he could watch on the flight, including _Jason Bourne_ , the sequel he had been waiting for for years. So halfway through the movie, his mind drifted back to last night.

He had seen her.

Clary.

She had been right there.

And she had been so _achingly beautiful_.

She had been wearing this black dress with long sleeves that ended partway down her thighs which had been long and tanned. She had looked so good, her body a little fuller than it had been when they were younger, her hair dyed a darker shade of red, but those green eyes were exactly the same.

He had only seen her for about half a minute, but that half a minute had kept him awake all night and he was feeling pretty strung out. Every time he had gone to close his eyes, all he could see was the Clary he had caught of a glimpse of last night, and then a slideshow of the Clary he had known all those years ago.

Jace tried to turn his full attention back to the movie, away from the girl that he had spent almost half of his life in love with. Usually he was good at switching off his brain, he had needed to do that in the years when he had first been adapting to practically living on set for _City of Glass_ for eight months out of the year. But with Clary, things were always a little bit different. He managed to fall asleep after an hour, fitful and dreamless, and didn't wake up until the pretty air hostess tapped on his shoulder as they were about to make the descent and he needed to strap in his seat belt.

There was a nasty twist of emotions in the pit of his stomach, feeling more than a little nervous about seeing his cousins and their families. Alec had text him and said that he and Isabelle were going to meet him at the airport, and it was the first time in two years that he was going to be seeing them. If he was also being honest, part of him was really hoping that he might hear something more about Clary. He hadn't wanted to hear from Gregory, because it would be impersonal and second hand, and he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to handle it.

But after last night, that hesitance had gone out the window.

And he knew that Alec and Isabelle were in touch with Clary because last night when he had scoured both of their social media pages—partly to catch up on his cousins lives, partly hoping to catch a glimpse of her—and he had seen a few photos with her in them. He couldn't believe that he had missed them over the years, but when he thought about it, it made sense. He hardly ever went on social media, it was always something to avoid when you generally trended on Twitter and people speculated about your love life and health every time you went grocery shopping.

Even on his personal account, which had less than fifty people joined, was difficult for him to go on, because he would see photos of Alec and Isabelle and their families and he would see what he was missing out on.

She had been right in front of him.

Well, admittedly he would have to look quite hard to find her, because she seemed to make a point to avoid the camera, but he found about six or seven photos of her, mainly in group settings, but then there was one of Isabelle's daughter and Clary and it was so tooth-rottingly adorable that Jace's teeth ached.

So now he was nervous for two reasons, as if he wasn't freaking out enough about seeing his cousins.

Jace had always been glad to fly First Class, he couldn't imagine needing to fly Economy, because at least when he got off the six hour flight, he didn't feel all sticky and rumpled. He ran his fingers through his hair, flipping it out so that it wasn't flat at the back, and standing up. He was wearing jeans and a light blue sweatshirt, simple and tidy, and he grabbed one of his overnight bags from the overhead compartment, filing off the plane behind the other First Class passengers.

Jace looked down at his phone, sending off a text to Alec with pale fingers to let him know that he had just landed and was waiting for his suitcases to be brought off the plane. It was ridiculous how nervous he was right now. He reached the holding bay where people were waiting for their luggage to be unloaded, and his hand rested on the baseball cap that was tucked into his back pocket. He pulled it out and made sure he jerked the lip down so that it covered his face a little, trying to look inconspicuous. Jace grabbed his second bag when it came around the conveyor belt, and then started toward and arrival gate. His eyes swung from side to side as he looked around, trying to capture a glimpse of either one of his cousins.

There were signs being held by men dressed in suits, clearly from limo services, and there were harried looking families and screaming children, who looked like they had been there for a while and were bored and sick of waiting. He didn't recognize anyone, and he still hadn't had a response from Alec. He sent off another text, and then heard a shout.

"Jace!" His head snapped to the side and his whole body relaxed.

Isabelle Lightwood-Lewis.

Looking gorgeous and relaxed, with a toddler on her hip.

"Hey!" Jace grinned, jogging over to where she was standing, a wide smile on her face as she held out her free arm to wrap him in a hug. Personal space was a big thing for Jace, but he didn't care at all as Isabelle pulled him in tight and buried her head in his chest. Jace hugged her back, careful not to smush the toddler. "And this is Maxci?" He turned his gaze down to the toddler who gave him a gummy smile and waved one pudgy hand.

"This is my Maxci," Isabelle smiled as she pressed a kiss to the childs chubby cheek.

"She's gorgeous," Jace said honestly, reaching forward to touch his finger against of of Maxci Lightwood-Lewis' hand.

"You gonna say 'hi', baby?" Isabelle cooed, jiggling Maxci around on her hip. The little girl looked up at Jace and then seemed to get an abrupt attack of shyness and ducked her head to hide her face in her mothers shoulder. Isabelle laughed and then looked back at Jace, her eyes sweeping up and down critically. "You look tired, man," she stated. "And you're looking a little thin," she narrowed her eyes as she poked her finger into his stomach, which was rock hard from toned abdominals. "Although I guess at least you're in shape."

"Eh," Jace gave a one shouldered shrug, not particularly keen on discussing his well being.

"Yeah, well, we'll get you looking better before we send you back to the Big Apple," Isabelle promised and then nodded down to her bag. "Come on, Alec's waiting outside in the car. Rhys fell asleep on the way here and he gets cranky if he doesn't get his afternoon nap." Jace nodded in a way that he hoped was understanding, even though he honestly knew the last thing about children. Jace picked up his two bags from where he had dropped them to hug Isabelle and followed her to the edge of the airport where there was a couple of lifts that moved up and down to the parking building. "We just gotta pay for parking before heading out," Isabelle said as she stopped at a payment kiosk.

Jace blinked.

Paying for parking.

That wasn't something that he had needed to worry about in a long time.

He watched as Isabelle slid the parking ticket into the kiosk and somehow managed to juggle Maxci while getting her wallet out of the bag that was over her shoulder and then sliding her debit card into the machine. Jace couldn't help but watch in something almost like wonderment as Isabelle deftly paid for the parking while listening attentively to Maxci, who was babbling away on her hip.

Jace hadn't even met Maxci.

He had never seen Isabelle as a mum.

He vividly remembered her when they were teenagers and in their early twenties when she would come into New York to visit them, and they would go out and get drunk. Isabelle would even give him a run for his money, dancing on tables and dragging him into strip clubs.

He barely even recognized her now.

Jace swallowed hard as he realized that this was all just part of the things that he had missed out on while he had been burying himself in work.

"You coming?" Isabelle raised her eyebrow at him, the lift doors open beside her.

"Sorry," Jace mumbled, flashing her a smile as he followed after her, adjusting his grip on her bags.

"So, Alec is parked on the fourth floor. He's fussy as hell about parking his car—I swear that thing is the love of his life," Isabelle rolled her eyes fondly. "He'll only park it if there's good space on both sides so that there's no chance of it being dinged by cars opening. Rhys should be awake soon as well, he usually only sleeps for about an hour or so in the afternoons, so he should be in a happy mood." Isabelle kept chattering away, her tone upbeat and familiar as she said that Magnus was going to be cooking them all dinner that night—Alec's fiancée owned a restaurant, Jace knew that—and how her husband, Simon, was going to be meeting them after work. "Here we are," Isabelle stopped by a sleek black Mercedes-Benz SUV. She shifted her grip on Maxci and opened the boot. "Throw your stuff in."

"Yup," Jace put both his bags inside, noting the plastic dinosaur in the corner, a towel and a pack of wet wipes.

"You're in the front," Isabelle told him as she opened one of the side doors and put Maxci inside, setting about strapping her into her car seat. Jace nodded, taking in a deep breath through his teeth as he walked up to the passenger side door and opened it up, looking directly at Alec for the first time in two years.

"Hey, man," Alec gave him a half smile, his eyes tentative, but at least looking happy to see him. Alec's hair was a little shorter than it used to be, and the clothes he was wearing were a far cry from the ripped jeans and a band tee-shirts that he wore when they were all younger. "Good flight?"

"Not bad," Jace smiled back as he got inside, twisting in his seat to look over his shoulder. There were two rows in the back seat; Isabelle was right in the back, and Maxci and the little boy—Rhys—who looked like he had just woken up, were in their car seats in the middle. "Hey," Jace gave Rhys an awkward wave, who's cheeks went an adorable red and his lips curved into a shy smile.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"We all ready to go, guys?" Alec called back.

"Yes, daddy!" Rhys chimed while Isabelle nodded her head from the backseat, stretching forward to pass the parking ticket that she had paid for.

"So, uh, where's Isaac?" Jace asked, not wanting there to be any kind of awkward silence stretch out in the car.

"Magnus is going to bring him home tonight," Alec replied as he carefully backed out of their parking spot and beginning to drive forward.

"Is he at...School?" Jace honestly had no idea if it was a school term or holidays.

"No, silly!" Rhys piped up from the back seat, letting out a giggle. "School finishes at 3! He's at Aunty Clary's!" Then he began talking to Maxci, the little girl letting out squeals of delight as he tickled her sides and danced his fingers in front of her face, having absolutely no idea of the bomb shell that he had dropped over the car.

Aunty Clary.

 _Aunty Clary._

Jace looked sideways at Alec, just to confirm that he had heard the boy right and wasn't completely hallucinating.

The pinched look on his cousins face told him all he needed to know.

Clary was here.

 _OMG! How many times have you guys watched Jenna Dewan-Tatum's dance to her hubby's_ Magic Mike _song? She's so fucking hot! Her and Channing are my fave celeb couple *sigh*. Out of those Lip Sync battle performances, I don't know if it's the Tatum's who are my favourites, or the Hough siblings, coz Julianne and Derek are just baaaaabes._

 _So for another story that I'm working on, can you guys give me job/career ideas of what you imagine our TMI characters having in an AU world? Clary, Jace, Izzy, Simon, Alec, Magnus, Kaelie, Maia, Raphael...Etc etc. Let me know in the reviews or in a PM._

 _Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate how beautiful Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner looked at the Oscars? Holy shit. And how Taraji P Henson absolutely slayed on the red carpet? She's so fucking_ gorgeous _._

 _Please leave review!_

 _And if you're logged in and want a preview, let me know xx_


	8. Chapter 8

_Next update! And yes, guys, we do get to see Clary again ;)_

Jace tried to focus on Alec, Isabelle and the kids.

He tried not to think about the off-handed comment from Rhys in the car.

But his mind kept floating back to the statement and the frozen expressions on Alec and Isabelle's face.

He frowned, shaking his head from side to side slightly, and staring out at the backyard where Rhys and Maxci were playing together. He had to clear his head on a regular basis when he was on camera, and he took in a deep breath to do that now. Maxci was toddling around on the soft grass, unsteady legs carrying her after her older cousin, who was running around much more confidently, chasing after their golden retriever, Cleo. Alec was inside, getting things ready for dinner, and Isabelle was on the balcony next to Jace, a glass bottle of apple and fejoa juice in her hand.

"She's gorgeous," Jace told Isabelle earnestly, unable to hold back his smile as Maxci fell down onto her bum, blinking up at Cleo who had run over to find out why the littlest human wasn't chasing her anymore.

"I know," Isabelle smirked. "She's got my looks, and hopefully she's got Simon's brains."

"Accountant, right?" Jace confirmed, remembering sporadic conversations she had had with Isabelle about her husband.

"Yeah," Isabelle nodded. "I mean, I think that accountant is the most simple term of what he is. He works for one of the biggest firms in the country and he contracts out to companies to go over their books, make sure partnerships they enter into with other companies are a good decision financially." Jace raised his eyebrows at Isabelle, who seemed to know exactly what he meant by that look and let out a laugh. "I know, I know, right? I married a nerd."

"Well, since you're the one who said it..." Jace began with a twinkle in his eye and Isabelle let out another laugh, easy and loud, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Hey, we all grow up some time, right?" She grinned as she drank some more of her juice and then looked back at her daughter, who was back up and running around now. "People change as time goes by." Her comments made his stomach twist and he glanced down at his hands, his fingers locked together in front of him.

"Yeah, I just..." Jace twisted his mouth as he wondered how to say what he was thinking. "I guess it's hard to process that because it feels like—" he broke off and shook his head. He didn't want to get into anything serious and heavy with his cousin right now. It was his first day there, and there were kids playing just a few metres away from them. He didn't want to start talking about how much he had missed by absorbing himself in his work. "So," he swiftly changed the course of conversation. "I don't think I ever told you that I loved how you named Maxci after Max," he gave Isabelle a soft smile. "That's really sweet." Isabelle nodded and smiled back at him, looking with fond eyes across to her daughter.

"Alec and I had talked about it a couple of times," Isabelle said. "About naming one of our kids after Max. He and Mags adopted Rhys and Isaac, and they're definitely not planning on having any more, so he was more than happy for me to name my girl after him." Max Lightwood had died of cancer when he was just six years old. It had been caught too late by the doctors for even the most vicious of treatments to catch. He had been one of the most cheerful and sweet kids that Jace had ever met, and things had been dark for quite a while for Alec and Isabelle as they adjusted.

"So two is enough for Alec and Magnus?" Jace continued.

"Oh, hell yes," Isabelle laughed, although it was a little strained, undoubtedly from the trip down memory lane the origins of her daughters name had brought up. "Rhys and Isaac keep them on their toes. It was a little hard going at first, mainly for Isaac because all he really knew was that his parents weren't around anymore, but he didn't understand why. Rhys was too young to really miss his mum and dad, but he was pretty much a newborn, and any newborn is hard to deal with!"

"What about you, huh?" Jace nudged her with his elbow. "You and Simon planning on having anymore?" Isabelle snorted.

"Eh, maybe, but not for some time," she finished off her bottle of juice and twisted on the cap. "I'm still trying to get my head around this one," she nodded at Maxci. "I know Si wants a whole horde of them, but I'm not sure I can deal with more than one or two. I think I'd probably go crazy."

"You've got a whole lot more patience than you give yourself credit for," Jace told her. "You put up with a lot of shit between me and Alec when we were kids. If you can deal with us, you can deal with anything."

"I don't know," Isabelle teased. "At least you two didn't finger paint with pumpkin soup on my freshly painted walls." Jace laughed, relaxing back into the seat he was in. It felt so easy, sitting her with Isabelle, watching the two kids and the dog. It was the most relaxed that Jace had felt in a long time, and he ignored the voice in his head that said he was jealous of his cousins for being able to feel this all the time. "And you? You and that...Karli chick?"

"Kaelie," Jace's lips turned down a little, scrunching up his nose and Isabelle raised an eyebrow questioningly. "It's not—we're not serious. It's just kind of...It's just for now." Isabelle didn't look as though she understood, and he didn't blame her for that, but she didn't ask any questions. He opened his mouth to continue when something seemed to trigger Cleo, and the dog was suddenly sprinting inside. Jace turned back questioningly to look inside, and Rhys was then running after the dog. "Uh?" He looked at Isabelle.

"Isaac's home," Isabelle exhaled as she got up from her seat, walking into the backyard to pick up Maxci. The little girl squealed as her mum pressed a kiss to her hands and then carried her inside. "You coming?" She wasn't smiling anymore, as she bounced Maxci on her hip, and there was something Jace couldn't quite discern in her eyes, but he ignored it as he picked up his bottle of juice and followed her into the house. Magnus and Alec had a gorgeous home. It was nowhere near as big as the house he owned in Los Angeles, and it didn't have any kind of view like his apartment in New York, and it wasn't filled with as much expensive furniture as his holiday home Italy.

But it had something that all of those places were lacking.

A _warmth_ —one that felt like home. He had felt it the moment he had stepped into the house.

However, he didn't have too much time to think about that now, because there was suddenly squeals of joy and laughter bouncing through against the walls of the first storey of the home. Jace raised an eyebrow, recognizing Rhys's laughs and then he heard another boy, who he assumed was Isaac.

"Where's my hug, huh?!" Came another voice. A more mature and most definitely female voice. "Aye, baby boy?! I ain't leaving without my hug!" There were more laughs coming from the two boys and Jace felt his footsteps falter slightly as he followed Isabelle. His cousin glanced over his shoulder at him, her mouth still twisted nervously, but she gave him an expectant look, waiting for him to follow. They reached the end of the hall that lead into the lounge and the adjoining dining room, and then that voice came again. "I got you!" There were loud squeals and Jace's body jolted to a stop.

He knew who that voice belonged to.

"Come on, Jace," Isabelle murmured encouragingly, Maxci staring intently at the doorway leading to the the lounge. His mouth felt dry as Isabelle and Maxci passed through the doorway, and his feet felt heavy on the ground, dragging as he moved forward.

"Aunty Clary!" Rhys was crying out and Jace's heart was beating ridiculously fast in his chest as he finally saw them.

Saw _her_.

She was wearing ripped jeans and a long sleeved shirt, her hair tied up in a sloppy pony tail and her face devoid of make up. Completely different from the very put together woman that he had caught a glimpse of at the art exhibition, but just as beautiful.

"Aunty Clary—why can't you stay?!" Rhys protested as Clary picked him up and stared showering his face with kisses. He giggled and tried to ducked his face away, but Clary just nuzzled her face into the soft skin of his neck and blew a raspberry, making the little boy giggle again.

"Aunty Clary has got a work dinner," Clary told him, sticking out her lower lip in a pout, that Jace found achingly adorable. "But if I had a choice, you know that I would stay here with my two favourite boys."

"Daddy's making taco's for dinner!" Isaac announced as he came skipping back into the room, coming into sight. He was a lot taller than the last time Jace had seen him, with floppy hair falling in front of his face. The resemblance between he and his younger brother was striking, with their big green eyes and olive coloured skin.

"Aw, Alec's taco's are my favourite," Clary grumbled. "Anyway, I need to be going—Iz!" Her attention drifted from the boys for the first time, seeing her friend standing there with Maxci. "And my little Miss Maxci." There was a squeak and giggle from the little girl, and it looked as though Clary was about to reach for her with the arm that wasn't holding Rhys but then she saw Jace over Isabelle's shoulder. She froze as she saw him, her face draining of colour, making the light dusting of freckles across her nose more obvious. She didn't look completely surprised, like how Jace had felt when he found out that she was here, so clearly she had had some warning, but it was still a shock to be face to face with him like this after all this time. "Jace," she managed to choke out.

"Clary," Jace's voice was barely louder than a whisper.

"Aunty Clary, are you sure you can't _staaaaay_?" Rhys whined, completely oblivious to the tension in the room, tugging on her arm. Clary blinked a couple of times, attempting a smile at Rhys, but her face kept lifting back up to look at Jace. "Aunty Clary?" Rhys looked confused, tilting his head to the side.

"Uh, sorry, baby," Clary cleared her throat, shaking her head slightly as though to get rid of Jace fog that was now hanging in front of her eyes. "I'm, uh," she still looked confused, like she couldn't quite remember what she was meant to say. Jace was staring at her, unable to tear his eyes away, and Isabelle was watching them both carefully, her eyes narrow. Clary finally pulled herself together, taking in a deep breath and plastering a strained smile on her face. "I'm sorry, baby," she apologized to Rhys, and then to Isaac who was standing at her side. "But I'll be back around soon to see you—I promise!"

"Okay," Isaac sighed as he crossed her arms over his chest.

"How about we go and get our hands washed? Dinner's not going to be far away," Isabelle interjected. Rhys scrambled down from Clary's arms to run toward the bathroom after his brother. Isabelle raised an eyebrow as she looked between Clary and Jace and then walked after her nephews, Maxci chattering away. Jace found it difficult to swallow as he blinked at Clary.

"Hi," he managed to say.

"Hey," Clary licked her tongue over her lips, Jace following the movement. She pulled her keys out of her back pocket, fiddling with them, her fingers shuffling through the individual keys. "Uh, how was your flight?"

"Fine," Jace answered, kicking himself internally at the monosyllabic answers. Clary lifted one of her hands to scratch behind her ear.

"Um, I should probably head off," she said. "Bye, Jace." It took him a moment for her comment to process and before he could respond, she was already practically fleeing for the front door. Jace stared after her, his feet still feeling stuck to the floor, and every nerve in his body on high alert.

She had been right in front of him.

 _Clary_.

For the second time in the space of a week, he had been in the same space as her. He had been wishing this for nearly ten years, and now he had been given two opportunities.

He wasn't going to blow his third chance.

 _My song recommendations this time are_ Galway Girl _by Ed Sheeran,_ Kings _by Years and Years and_ Pretty Girl _by Maggie Lindemann. Especially the first song, I've had it on repeat for the past two weeks. So addicted. Also Calum Scott's cover of_ Dancing On My Own _. Holy shit. So incredible. His audition for Britain's Got Talent almost had me and my husband in tears, he was so incredible._

 _Also, I can't stop watching_ Law and Order: SVU. _I've watched it on so many occasions, but holy shit, I've almost made my way through two seasons in two weeks. Haha. Olivia Benson is one of my all time favourite characters of all time...She's so amazing...Another show I'm really getting into is_ Riverdale _. I thought it was quite young the first few episodes, but I'm quite enjoying it now. I absolutely love Cheryl, and I really like Betty and Jughead and Veronica as well :)_

 _Leave a review, let me know what you guys think xx_

 _If you would like a preview, let me know in your review :)_


	9. Chapter 9

_Hey, guys! So here we go with the next update. Also just wanting to let you know that I will be taking the rest of the month off, so no other updates until May. Just have a lot going on in my life at the moment and I'm feeling a bit stressed out. But I'll still be around, so if you want to fangirl or talk, send me a PM. From May, the updating schedule on my profile will be adhered to once again :)_

Isabelle and Maxci stayed for dinner but left shortly afterwards, spurred on when Maxci started rubbing her eyes and snuffling against Isabelle's shoulder. Isaac and Rhys were adorable when they were saying goodbye to their aunt, carefully kissing their cousin on her chubby cheeks and wiggling their fingers as she drove down the driveway. Alec put both of the boys to bed around eight, and then he and Jace settled in front of the plasma TV with beers in their hands.

Alec had never been one for big conversation, and especially with the years and distance stretching between them, it was a little bit awkward to begin with. But as they watched a basketball game, they slowly started talking, commenting on different players and cheering on their teams. They didn't talk about anything personal, other than Jace asking when Magnus was going to get home, and that was possibly the best thing for now. Jace had a feeling that if Alec was going to ask about anything it would only in a roundabout way lead back to Clary, and he wasn't quite prepared to discuss that right now. At least, not until he spoke with her, and got a better understanding of what was going on in his head.

Magnus apparently wouldn't be home until after midnight, he refused to leave his restaurant until the place was spotless at the end of the night and his staff had all finished up and gone home safely. The boys went upstairs to bed at eleven, Jace going into the guest room down the end of the hall, and Alec muttered goodnight and shot him a half smile.

It took him hours before Jace managed to get to sleep, and when he did, it was once again Clary who was his last conscious thought.

* * *

With Seattle being three hours behind New York, Jace had to adjust the alarm on his phone so that he woke up at a proper hour the next morning. The lack of sleep wasn't anything he wasn't used to, there were weeks on end where he was shifting between time zones regularly and he would then need to go into interviews looking fresh faced and fully rested. When he came downstairs, though, it was still after Alec had left to take Isaac to school and Rhys to daycare before he went off to work at the lawyers firm.

"Morning," Jace said, giving Magnus a tentative smile. The pair of them had only met a couple of times, and if he was being completely honest, the flamboyant man made him just a little bit uncomfortable.

"Morning, darling," Magnus gave him a wide, Cheshire-like grin over his mug of coffee. It was one of those cups that could was painted in an art store and then given back, and it looked as though this one had been done by one of the boys, given it declared, _I lov u dady_ on the side. It was extremely adorable and Jace felt his smile widening. "How did you sleep?"

"Great," Jace replied as he looked around the kitchen quickly and determined where the cupboard with the mugs were. The pot of coffee was still hot and he poured himself a cup, drinking it strong and black, just like he liked it.

"Excellent. That means you're all well and rested to talk to Clary," Magnus still had the wide smile on his face, as though he couldn't blatantly see how pale Jace went. "She's going to be here in about, oh, five minutes. She thinks that she's meeting me to discuss an art piece I commissioned her to do for my restaurant, so don't worry, she doesn't have some unfair advantage about preparing herself for this conversation that you're about to have."

"I—" Jace had no idea what he was meant to say. He felt like maybe he should be annoyed that this man he barely knew was thrusting him into this situation that he had been nervous about for years. But he wasn't, he was just shaken up. "I don't know—"

"You'll do fine," Magnus said confidently. "I'm going to be out the back, so if I hear any shouting or breaking of my expensive china plates, I'll come rushing back in. But I really don't think it will come to anything like that." Jace's eyebrows pulled together, his fingers going to his hair and tugging at the strands which were long and hanging around his face. His last movie had required him to have shaggy hair, nearly reaching his shoulders, and he had liked it, so he hadn't cut it yet.

"Does Alec know that you've organized this?" Jace finally settled on saying.

"Absolutely not," Magnus snorted as his eyes went to the wide windows that overlooked the driveway. "Alec's not to big on talking out problems—" Jace gave a knowing smirk to that. "But I think that if you're going to be staying here, then you and Clary need to at least come to an understanding." Jace heard the hum of a car outside, and realized Magnus must have been looking out the window because he had seen the car approaching down the long driveway. "Here she is," Magnus stated as he slid off the bar stool and picked up his mug of coffee. "So you two...Discuss things," his free hand did some weird demonstration of what Jace guessed was meant to be ' _things_ ' before he started walking upstairs. Jace stood frozen in the kitchen as he heard the engine of the car outside turn off, and he swallowed hard, a lump in his throat. The front door opened and Jace's toes curled in the socks he was wearing.

"Mags?" Clary called out and he heard her shoes scuffing along the tiles of the entrance foyer. "Ma-ags?" She sung out. "You better have me a hazelnut coffee ready because I skipped my morning caffeine for a run—" her sentence was cut off completely as she saw who was standing in the kitchen.

And it wasn't Magnus.

"Jace," Clary stated, her green eyes flickering around the kitchen and then closing them momentarily. "Magnus set us up?"

"Something like that," Jace's voice was rough as he stared at her. The tension in the air was almost oppressive, and Jace wondered if it was always going to be like that when they were in the same room as each other.

Because it verged on _suffocating_.

Clary pursed her lips as she stared at him, her expression hesitant before she let out a breath and her shoulders slumped a little as though she had made a decision.

"How did you know that it was my art exhibition in the city?" She asked softly. "I mean, you were never really into art, so it doesn't seem like something that you would just go to...Unless your taste has changed." Jace gave her a small smile, although his fingers tightened around his coffee cup, sucking up the warmth, trying to anchor himself.

"I've known it was you for a while," he admittedly, his voice just as quiet and tentative as her. "Adele Greymark? Your middle name and your step fathers last name. Made sense once I knew."

"Did Alec tell you?" She tilted her head to the side, looking confused.

"No," Jace shook his head. Clary stared at him for a beat longer and then shrugged. She came into the kitchen and moved around, clearly completely at ease as she made herself the hazelnut coffee that she had been yelling about when she had first walked in. "So..." Jace shifted to move out of her way when she needed to get a spoon out of drawer, partly because he was in her way, and partly he wasn't quite ready for their bodies to brush together just yet, no matter how slightly. "I'm, uh, really glad that you kept painting. You always had a real gift for it."

"I am too," Clary looked a bit hesitant as she glanced over at him, stirring her coffee and then tapping the spoon against the side of the mug. "I..." she licked her lips and ducked her head, a few strands of thick red hair falling around her face. "I studied at a University, in Australia."

"I heard you moved there," Jace murmured.

"Yeah," Clary nodded, still not looking at him as she continued. "And then I traveled abroad, studied in France and Italy. I guess mum making me and save and invest shit loads of that money from when I was a teenager was a good thing, right?" She finally glanced over at him with a slight smile and Jace felt himself smile back in relief.

"Your work is incredible," Jace told her honestly. "I, uh..." he bit down on his lower lip before continuing. "I have some of your pieces, hanging in my apartment in New York." Clary blinked in surprise.

"But you don't like art," she stated, before blinking and wincing. "You _didn't_ like art," she corrected herself awkwardly.

"No, still not a big fan," his chest didn't feel quite as before, but talking to her still felt foreign. "But I always loved your art." Clary stared at him, her eyes wide and Jace felt his breath catch in his throat.

She finally looked away, taking in a deep breath of air into her lungs as she moved around to the breakfast bar and getting onto one of the bar stool.

"I loved acting," Clary said as she laid her hands flat on the marble top of the breakfast bar on either side of her coffee mug. "You know I did." Jace nodded at her, edging closer to the opposite side of the breakfast bar, about half a metre still between them. Closer, but a barrier still putting some safe distance there. "But everything that came with being in the spotlight..." she cringed and curled her upper lip, and Jace just nodded, understanding. There was the usual stress and lack of privacy that came with being an actor, but then there was also the sex tape, something that had thrown them both into territory they hadn't expected, and at such a young age. She cleared her throat and continued. "Art is easier, a lot less expectations. And keeping it anonymous helps."

"Was that your mums idea?" Jace questioned, wanting to keeping conversation moving, not wanting to give them a chance to fall in awkward silence.

"Mum's. And Jon's," Clary replied with a nod.

"How is Jon? I haven't heard anything about him in forever," Jace's eyebrows lifted in interest. Jonathon had barely ever been around when they were younger, completed uninterested in being in the spotlight like the rest of his family, but when he was, he got on well with all of them.

"He was the reason that we moved to Australia in the first place. He was living there, so after the last season of _City of Glass_ finished we moved out there with him," Clary said. "It was a little awkward at first, because I just wanted to go to school and blend in, but," she let out a short laugh. "That was a little difficult at first. But it got better." She fell quiet and stared down into her coffee, which was still steaming.

"I'm happy for you," Jace finally said and it was instinctive to reach out across the breakfast bar but he stops his hand before it covers hers, a few inches away. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked over to where his fingers were close to hers. Her thumb twitched although she didn't make a move to touch him. But she didn't move her hand away either, so that was something.

The air in the room didn't feel as heavy as before, and Jace actually had hope that maybe there was hope for them to be friends after all.

 _Songs this time..._ Symphony _by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Lasson. Holy shit. So completely in love._ Shape of You _, the cover by Madilyn Bailey. This chick has_ suuuch _an incredible voice, I love most of her covers, but this one is amazing. And the song_ Shout _, the version by Think Up Anger, that was on Riverdale. It's incredible. Also, I finally got around to watching_ The Get Down _, and I can't believe I waited so long,_

 _Let me know what songs you guys are listening to, and if you guys have seen_ The Get Down _!_

 _Did you guys like the chapter? Yes, no, maybe?_

 _Leave a review, let me know what you think :)_

 _Also, I would like to say Transgender Day of Visibility for the other day xx_

 _If you guys are logged in and want a preview, just let me know, and I'll send one out!_


	10. Chapter 10

_And we've got an update! Thank you guys for being patient with me; just got a lot going on right now, and my health is still playing up_ — _alongside my usual migraines, I've also had a cold for over a month that I just can't shake, so if you guys have any home remedies, let me know!_ _Anyway, on with the chapter, hope you enjoy!_

 _Also_ — _there's been some problems with uploading, giving me errors when I'm uploading, and apparently not sending out alerts to you guys by email. So...Fingers crossed this works for everyone this time!_

Jace had only planned to be here for two weeks. Charlotte had even brought a return ticket for him at the end of those two weeks, but those two weeks that he originally had thought he would be going back after turned into a month. And then that turned into six weeks.

There was just something about being here, surrounded by Alec and Isabelle and their families, that was so anchoring.

Isaac and Rhys accepted him easily, calling him 'Uncle Jace' after he was only there for a week. Isaac had school through the week, and Rhys was meant to be at childcare three days a week when both parents needed to work, but after a few weeks went by, Rhys seemed happy enough to stay at the house and have Jace look after him. Jace thought that he would be freaked out to responsible for another human—a breakable and delicate human—but it went smoother than expected. Sometimes Clary came over when Alec was around, and the four of them would watch kids movies with Rhys that Jace would never have had the time for usually.

Maxci was also adorable, and she seemed pretty happy with whoever picked her up and made faces at her. There was one time after lunch at Isabelle and Simon's that she fell asleep in her arms, her perfect little rosebud mouth pursed. In that moment, Jace could absolutely understand how people said they fell in love at first sight.

Simon seemed a little hesitant around him, and it was clear how protective he was over Clary, in a similar way to Magnus and Alec, just more-so, especially since he had no history with Jace, like the others did. From what Jace understood, Clary was the first one out of the group that Simon had met, and she was considered his best friend. Clearly it was Isabelle that he loved, but there was this brotherly way that he would look at Clary which made Jace glad she had someone like him around since Jon wasn't, even if that meant he got glared at every now and then when Jace and Clary would stand too close to each other.

With Clary...Jace wasn't even sure what was going on between them. They were friendly, although maybe not friends. They were careful about not being left alone in the same room as each other since the day that Magnus had thrown them together, and they didn't touch on purpose, mumbling out apologies when they did bump against one another. Even on the few occasions when she came over to help him with Rhys, she would always leave when he went down for his nap in the afternoon.

Sometimes it was easy with her, when they were in group settings she was always full of smiles and quick to laugh. Her green eyes would dance and her lips were tipped upwards, and she looked so young, exactly like when they were teenagers.

But then there was a night when she came by Alec and Magnus' house because Magnus was taking her out to some fancy wine tasting event. It was meant to be a date night for Magnus and Alec, going out to the event for some alone time together and also to pick up some new labels to sell in his restaurant. But Isaac had gotten sick, and he had just wanted one of his daddies. Clary had shown up in this sleek black jumpsuit that accentuated her slim wist and her toned legs. There was a low dip at the front which showed off a tasteful amount of cleavage and the hem of the jumpsuit legs ended just where a pair of black high heels started. She was wearing dark eye makeup and her lips were painted a dark red, her long red hair straightened and framing her face. He had answered the door and let her in, and he was glad that her and Magnus had left promptly because the blatant appreciation on his face was obvious—Alec had called him out on it after the two had left.

She looked so grown up—so completely different, which was to be expected.

She was like a whole other person—so grown up and confident, completely comfortable in her own skin. It wasn't as though she had been nervous and unsure of herself before, but it was just something that came with growing up. Or at least, it was something that came with _some_ people growing up. Clary had been lucky.

She had grown up well.

Insanely well.

Jace knew that it was just a matter of time before he was called on the fact that he couldn't stop looking at her when they were in the same room as each other. It was a miracle that Clary hadn't caught him yet, but Simon definitely had, and Magnus gave him knowing looks as well.

"Phone, Uncle Jace!" Isaac announced, sprinting toward Jace with Jace's Galaxy Edge phone in his hands, waving it around. Both of his fathers had said to him several times that he needed to be careful with the phone, kept telling him how expensive it was, but Jace didn't care. It wasn't as though he paid for it, it was given to him for promotional purposes, and the Isaac and Rhys had so much fun playing games on it he really didn't care about the sticky finger prints and the risk of a cracked screen.

Nothing he couldn't pay to get fixed, and money wasn't something he was worried about. He would rather watch them smile and have fun.

"Thanks, buddy," Jace smiled and took the phone off the little boy. Isaac gave him a big smile before he skipped off to join his brother was playing with Cleo in the backyard. He watched them for a moment before putting the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Jace," it was Charlotte. "How's my boy doing?"

"I'm good," Jace replied easily as the boys started shouting and laughing, running toward the playground that was set up for them. There was a tyre swing that Isaac carefully lifted his little brother into and starting pushing him on. Jace watched them carefully, even though he knew that Isaac was extremely protective when it came to Rhys. But Jace couldn't _help_ but watch them, more just out of some instinct that had occurred to him over these past few weeks.

"Yeah? So you got any idea as to when to expect you back? I've got a couple of magazines who want to do a spread with you, and also Gucci wants you to do an ad and a billboard for their new cologne coming out," Charlotte started rattling off, but Jace was barely listening. He was watching Isaac push his brother on his swing, Cleo running around and barking happily, and the wind smelt so fresh and sharp, something that he never would have in New York. "Jace? Are you listening?"

"Uh, yeah," Jace blinked. "Sure am."

"So? When you think you're going to be back?" She asked expectantly. Jace sighed and dropped his eyes from where he was watching the two boys, looking down at the grass that was springy underneath his feet.

"I'm honestly not sure, Char," Jace told her quietly. "I'm really liking it here. I can..." he didn't really know how to explain this feeling that he had been experiencing. "I can breathe," he settled for. "And I can sleep." Charlotte was quiet on the other end, he couldn't even hear her typing away on her computer anymore, which was a rare occurrence for her. Finally, she took in a deep breath and he heard some rustling.

"Okay," she said. "Okay, sweetie. You take your time. You have a few more months before you're really _needed_ to be back here. These offers will keep coming, so let me know when you're ready, and we'll get everything moving on this end again."

"You know you'll be the first person I tell when I know," Jace answered, her voice warm. People sometimes forgot that Charlotte meant a whole lot more to him than just an agent. An agent was one of an actors most trusted and valued companions, but she was even _more_ than that to him. Charlotte somehow managed to keep the balance between agent and guardian. She was like a parent to him as he was growing up, and even though she pushed for him to do the best he was able to do in his career, she also made sure he looked after himself.

"Alright. Well, you say hello to your cousins and their gorgeous children. Call me in a few days, let me know how things are going," Charlotte murmured.

"Bye, Char," Jace pulled the phone away from his ear and ended the call, tucking it into her back pocket. His crossed his muscular arms over his chest, the shirt he was wearing pulling tight over his back, and he felt a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as Rhys let out an especially loud squeal as Isaac pushed him higher. The older brother was laughing, his dark curls bouncing around his face, but Jace didn't miss the way Isaac followed his brother carefully with his eyes, making sure that he wasn't pushing him too high to the point of being dangerous. Cleo also had a protective glint in her eye as she jogged around the boys, occasionally snuffling against Isaac's hand for a pat or parking playfully as Rhys swooped by on the swing.

"Hey," Alec's voice was quiet as he appeared at Jace's side. Jace started slightly, and gave his cousin a smile. "How's it going?"

"Everything's good," Jace replied as he took the cold bottle of beer from Alec's hand and sipped from it. The two of them were quiet for a bit as they watched the boys and Cleo play. "What time is Magnus going to be back tonight?"

"It's a Friday," Alec began. "So that means the restaurant is going to be closing until around midnight. Maybe one or two? It can depend on the workload, and whether any of his staff calls in sick." Jace nodded, understanding that work could be unpredictable. Out of the two parents, Alec was the one with set hours, working three days a week, from eight until four, occasionally five. Magnus' hours could be long and sometimes he worked the full seven days of the week, leaving around lunch and not coming home until the early hours of the morning.

But despite it all, the looks of devotion and love toward each other and toward their boys never wavered of Alec or Magnus' face.

It was like when they were together, they just _breathed_ easier.

Jace couldn't begin to process how jealous he was of that.

It was the same with Isabelle and Simon, they just moved as though they had their own force of gravity which pulled them together, comfortably touching each other and bumping hips and adoring Maxci.

And then there was Clary.

Who just fit perfectly into all of their worlds, completely belonging there.

"Where you at?" Alec asked and Jace blinked, realized that Rhys and Isaac were now running toward them, no longer on the swing.

"Huh?" Jace turned to his cousin as the two boys ran past them, into the house, leaving the two men outside with the dog, who was entertaining herself by barking at a bird perched on the high fence surrounding the property.

"Where's your head at?" Alec clarified. "You went somewhere."

"Just...Thinking," Jace shrugged and ducked his head, stubbing the toe of his shoe on the concrete.

"About Clary?" Alec asked knowingly and Jace's head jerked back up to look at his cousin, his cheeks warming. He knew that he didn't need to answer by the way that Alec let out a snort and drank from his own bottle of beer. The laughter from the two brothers could be heard inside, and Cleo seemed to loose interest in the bird, her claws clipping away on the wood of the balcony as she ran inside to join the two of them, not wanting to be left out. "Let's head in, it's almost dinner and those two will start to tear the kitchen apart if we don't start."

"Sounds good," Jace gave Alec a smile as the dark haired man lead the way off the balcony. Jace paused as they were making their way down the hall, his eye caught on the photos that were hanging on the walls, of family and friends. He had looked at these photos a dozen times, and every time he got the same ache in his chest. "Hey, Alec?" Jace raised his voice so that his cousin could hear.

"Yeah?" Alec looked over his shoulder, a faint smile on his face. That defensive look in his eyes that had been there for the first week had faded, and there was a warm expression on his face whenever he looked at his cousin.

"I'm sorry I missed so much," he a was a little embarrassed by how tight his voice was when he uttered the statement. Alec's lips tightened imperceptibly before he jerked his head in a nod and rolled his eyes.

"Stop getting all sappy, man," he grinned. "You still have to help with dinner—you're peeling the potatoes."

 _Sorry, this is going to be a little bit of a long A/N—only because I've got a lot that I want to recommend to you guys! Movie wise; I've only just seen_ Moonlight _, taken me a while to get there, but I saw it, and I loved it. My heart was aching through it, but it was beautiful._ Beauty and the Beast, _it was great. Was really worried because I loved the original so much, but it was great. And also_ Logan _, shit—I managed to hold it together right at the end, where Laura changed the cross to a X. Then I kind of lost it. So I absolutely recommend all thee of these._

 _Now, with TV series—_ Big Little Lies _. Holy SHIT! This was incredible! I binged the whole thing in one morning. It was sooooo good. I've also just started watching_ American Gods _, and I've got high hopes for it :) AND_ SENSE8 _SEASON 2 IS OUT! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! And it's just as amazing as ever! Also, I've got some song recommendations;_ Enjoy The Ride _and_ Alive _, by Krewella. Great songs, I've had them on repeat for the past couple of weeks. And then_ Red _, by Tyler Ward. The original song is by Taylor Swift, although I've never actually heard that version, only the one by Tyler, and it's so fucking beautiful._

 _And finally, I've got two stories that I'm pretty obsessed with. The first one I've been meaning to recommend for ages, but I just kept forgetting! It's by reppinda5o3, who is absolutely fucking amazing and listens to all my word vomit with my stories and is always there for me when I need to rant/rave. It's called_ Clarissa Is A Punk _, it's an AU story, she write in incredible detail, and you should all check it out! The second story is_ The Cry of The Wild _, another AU story, by happiness trap. She updates frequently as well, so that's always a plus!_

 _Alright—so let me know what you think of the update! Did you enjoy it? Let me know what your recommendations for songs, fics, movies or TV series are, and if you guys agree with the ones I've included._

 _If you'd like a preview of the next chapter and you're logged in, let me know, and I'll send it out xx_

 _Also, it's my birthday next week, so a review would be a pretty nice present from ya'll :)_


	11. Chapter 11

It was Sunday evening, and Magnus had taken the day off to spend it at home. He sometimes didn't get any days off throughout the week, but he made up for it when he could. And he seemed to decide to do it this Sunday by cooking an amazing meal for his family, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, Maxci and Clary. The house was noisy with the two boys running around and entertaining Maxci; Clary and Isabelle drinking wine and laughing on the balcony in reclining chairs while the four men moved between the barbeque on the deck and grabbing more things from kitchen. There was music playing loudly from inside the house, some old rock band that Jace knew Alec used to listen to, and Jace couldn't help but hum along to the tune as he tapped his fingers on the side of his bottle of beer.

Dinner was loud, even though they were outside at the long picnic table, rather than all inside with peoples voices bouncing off the walls. Rhys and Isaac's voices just rose higher and higher as they tried to talk over each other, and Maxci was hitting her plastic spoon against her plate as she squealed and chattered along in a string of garbled noises with the occasional recognizable word thrown in.

Jace was sitting between Rhys and Alec, and his eyes flitted around the table, barely looking down at his food as he looked from person to person. Instead of Isabelle or Simon needing to look after Maxci, Clary had the little girl on her lap and was easily eating her own dinner over the girls head. Isabelle and Simon looked sickeningly in love as they nudged one another and exchanged kisses, and Alec and Magnus were similar, Magnus' hand resting on Alec's thigh under the table as he leaned over and whispered things in his ear.

One thing that was a downside was the narrow eyed looked that Simon would occasionally shoot in Jace's direction, but that was something that he could get over.

"We should probably get this one home," Isabelle announced a little after seven-thirty that evening. They were all still outside, Rhys and Isaac on their playground and playing tag, but even their energy was starting to wane. Maxci was sitting on Clary's lap, Clary's arm curled around her and the little girl with her head resting on the woman's chest, determinedly trying to keep her drooping eyes open, but steadily failing.

"We'll take her off your hands," Simon gave Clary a grin as he began shifting from where they were seated at the picnic table.

"Aw, but she likes me more than you," Clary winked at Simon as she moved Maxci in her lap and there were mumbles of upset from the little girl as her father took her. "What time are you going to be over tomorrow?"

"Probably around eight-thirty?" Clary said as she ran her fingers through her hair, which was curling past her shoulders, and tugged at the ends. "Don't worry, I'll be there to take the munchkin before you two need to head off to work."

"Thanks for having us," Isabelle murmured, sounding tired herself as she moved around the table and put her arms around her brothers neck and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "And as always, your food was to die for, Mags," she glanced over at the Indonesian man her grinned back at her and inclined his head forward. Alec awkwardly reached back to hug Isabelle from his seated position before Maxci made a snuffling noise in Simon's arms and let out a big yawn. "We should probably head off," she said as she straightened up and turned to look out over the back lawn to the playground. "Rhys! Isaac! Come give your favourite aunt a kiss goodbye!" Rhys and Isaac came running over, Rhys letting out a giggle as Isabelle gave her a hug.

"You and Aunty Clary are _both_ our favourite aunts," he said diplomatically, his big eyes earnest.

"Oh yeah?" Isabelle poked her tongue out over Rhys' head, at Clary. "Well, I think I'm okay with that. She _is_ pretty awesome."

"And she does all the voices when we're reading Dr Seuss!" Isaac piped up when it was his turn to hug Isabelle.

"You can't read Dr Seuss without the voices," Clary agreed with a grin from the other side of the picnic table. Jace was just sitting back with a smile on his face as he watched the exchange between them all, leaning forward to kiss Isabelle with his cousin came over to where he was seated.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" Isabelle told him as she ruffled his hair. "And maybe it would be a good idea to get a hair cut, that mop is getting a little out of control."

"My hair is just fine," Jace grumbled as he ducked away from her hand, but he didn't mind the teasing one bit. Simon called out goodbye from where he had already started walking toward the house in an effort to encourage his wife to keep moving. The man gave everyone a smile as they shouted out goodbye to him, although the smile froze on his face as he skimmed over Jace.

"And I think its time for you guys to head in for baths as well," Alec announced as he glanced over his sons.

"Noooooooo!" Rhys protested.

"Can't we just play for a little longer?" Isaac asked, making his eyes big and round and batting his eyelashes up at his fathers. Jace snorted at the looks on their faces, all adorable pouts and wide eyes, and he knew that these boys were going to get all the girls when they were in high school.

"Nope," Alec smirked at them and shook his head. "Those looks aren't working on me tonight. You were up late last night, and you—" he looked at Isaac. "Have school tomorrow. And you—" this time he looked at Rhys. "Have kindy."

"Aunty Clary isn't looking after me?" Rhys stuck out his lower lip.

"No, Aunty Clary is taking Maxci for the day tomorrow," Magnus replied as he got up from his seat, dropping a kiss to Alec's head and squeezing his shoulder. Then he leaned down to pick up Rhys, who tilted his head to the side.

"She could look after both of us," he reasoned, and Jace grinned as Magnus carried Rhys inside, informing him that he was definitely going to kindergarten tomorrow rather than being looked after his beloved Clary.

"You too, buddy," Alec told Isaac, the quieter one out of the two. "Rhys will take the upstairs bathroom, you can use our bathroom downstairs."

"Can you read some more of Narnia before I go to sleep?" Isaac asked hopefully.

"Of course," Alec grinned, and Isaac reached forward to give his father a quick hug before running inside, after Magnus and his brother. Alec let out a heavy breath as he looked across the table.

"You still working your way through the first book?" Clary spoke up.

"Yeah— _The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe_ ," Alec nodded. "Not too sure how much he understands, but he seems to be enjoying it."

"He's a smart kid," Jace stated and Alec had a soft smile on his face as he heard a peal of laughter inside.

"They both are," Alec murmured. "Anyway, I better head in and watch over Isaac. He tends to turn our spa bath into a swimming pool if there's no supervision. I'll come back and help clean up once we've got these two ready for bed and all the grass stains off their legs."

"No, no, no," Clary protested, getting to her feet. "We'll take care of this."

"Yeah—you guys got dinner ready, we'll clean up," Jace agreed, although only part of that was because he wanted to help out his cousin. The other selfish part of him was just looking forward to getting to spend some time alone with Clary. Alec seemed to know that, because as Clary started gathering plates and stacking them on top of each other, Alec shot Jace a pointed look before heading inside.

"We'll put everything in the dishwasher," Clary said. "Just gotta rinse everything down before we put it in."

"You take those inside," Jace nodded at the plates in her hand. "I'll take care of the rest of this." Clary nodded at him, shooting him a small smile before heading inside. Jace watched her go, the long, loose maxi-dress that she was wearing swished around her legs. She was relaxed and her hair was loose and looking so soft and touchable that Jace had found himself needing to restrain himself on several occasions during the evening. He cleared his throat and quickly started tidying up the rest of the table. There were a couple of glass dishes which had held the meat, and two large bowls which had some leftover salad at the bottom. Then there were the cups, the two jugs which had had water, the salt and pepper shakers and the utensils. He gathered everything into tidy piles and made his first trip inside with the meat dishes and salad bowls.

Clary was in the kitchen, running hot water in the sink over the dishes that were in there, and had a cloth in her hand, wiping down the benches around her. The rock music that had been playing earlier in the evening had been turned off just before they had sat down for dinner, and she had put something softer on, the volume turned low. He could hear the words, and he didn't know the song, but he was pretty sure it was his new favourite song, just because of how Clary looked, right in that moment.

She was singing under her breath, her hips sashaying from side to side ever so slightly, letting her head tip in time to the music, her hair tumbling over her shoulders and down her back. She was completely unaware of his presence in the doorway, and he didn't even want to breathe for fear of alerting her and shattering the moment. Her bare feet were making small steps on the tiled floor, and when the music swelled, her voice lifted a little louder. She turned back to the sink and he was worried that she was going to catch a glimpse of him, but he realized that she was so lost in the song and her own head that she had no idea he was there. She wasn't wearing any make up, but she still looked just as young as she had when he had known her, free of stress or worry, her hair longer, her eyes brighter.

He had never seen her like this.

So content and happy.

"You always had a thing for staring," Clary suddenly said, still not turning from where she was rinsing off plates in the sink. Jace started at her sudden voice breaking through the calm of the room, and a split second later his face flamed red as he realized she had known he was there all along. He swallowed hard and walked forward to put down the dishes on the bench next to her, feeling embarrassed.

"Who's this?" Jace asked by way of changing the subject, waving at the speakers behind them.

"Banks," Clary replied. "She's pretty awesome." Jace made a non-committal noise at the back of his throat as he walked back out of the kitchen and to the table outside. He needed to make two more trips before the table was cleared, and then he started putting away what he could. Clary had almost finished rinsing everything down when Jace took in a deep breath and turned to face her, saying something that he had wanted to say for years now.

"I'm sorry," he stated, his voice quiet. Clary put the last plate in the dishwasher and then straightened up with a frown.

"For what?" She asked.

"The tape," Jace scratched at the side of his head, biting down on his lower lip. Clary froze for a moment, in the process of drying off her hands on a tea-towel, and her eyes lowered to the ground. "I just...We never really talked about it, you know? It happened, and then we were busy filming the last season, and we kind of just stopped seeing each other..." Jace regretted what had happened between them, but he had thought that it had been what she had wanted at the time. They had been a couple of teenagers who had been living in a world that put them in complete display of the public in the first place, and then when the tape had come out, Jocelyn and Luke had swarmed around Clary while Charlotte and Jace's cousins had done similarly to him. And then it was all about filming, which could be up to fourteen hour days, and once it was all over, Clary was suddenly gone.

"It was a long time ago," she finally said, looking back up at him and meeting his eyes. "It's over now."

"Yeah, but..I never got to say that I'm sorry," his throat felt as though it was squeezing beyond the point of him being able to breathe.

"It happened to you just as much as it happened to me," Clary's voice caught slightly in her throat. "It was fucking shit for both of us." Jace remembered Charlotte and everyone telling him not to talk to the press, not to read the articles, not to watch the late night gossip shows. But he had, of course, he was only human, and the truth of it was that a lot of it had centered around Clary. Not them as a couple, but Clary. Most comments about him had been to say that he was hot or built and had a nice ass. He had been lucky, because he was mainly sheltered from the camera. But Clary had been captured pretty much entirely, and the internet and the people who hid behind it's anonymity were merciless. She was too fat, too thin, her breasts were too small or too big, her skin was too pale, or _did she always make weird expressions when she had sex_?

"But so much of the judgement fell on you," Jace continued, sounding almost ashamed, even though there was nothing that he would have been able to do. "And I should have been able to protect you from that." Clary blinked up at him, and for a second, it looked like there might have been liquid in her eyes. But then she blinked again and it was gone. Jace took a step forward, feeling as though he needed to reach out and touch her, and feeling bolder than he had a week or so ago. He put one hand on her forearm, the other on the bench next to her, only a couple of inches between them. She didn't move away from him, but then she surprised him by shifting forward and giving him a hug, tightly wrapping her arms around him and holding him against her body. It wasn't a long hug, but it made Jace's body tingle all over when she stepped away. He noticed the way her cheeks were a little red as she moved away and then turned around to empty the sink of water.

He had to admit that he liked the flush on her face—especially since it appeared as though it was him who put it there.

"So, uh, tell me about what's been going on with you," Clary began wiping down the sink and the bench around it that had gotten wet. "You're with that girl from that reality show? Keirly?"

"Kaelie," Jace corrected, a twist in his stomach as he realized Clary knew about Kaelie. Although, it shouldn't really surprise him, it wasn't something that they tried to hide. And at the end of the day, what did it really matter? Just because seeing her after all this time has dredged up feelings in him that he had pushed down for so long, didn't mean it was the same for her. "Uh, yeah. I mean, we're seeing each other, but it's nothing serious. We're both very aware of that."

"I bet Char _loves_ her," Clary flashed a grin at him and Jace felt him instantly smiling back.

"Not the biggest fan," he cringed as he remembered the amount of dirty looks he had needed to endure from his god mother because of Kaelie. "But hey, at least I'm not going around and dying my hair blue anymore." Clary let out a surprised laugh as she remembered the summer when they were sixteen.

"I did love the blue hair," she snorted.

"No, you didn't!" Jace shot back at her as he leaned against the bench and crossed his arms over his muscular chest. "You just loved sitting back and watching while Char and the director ripped into me because they had to suddenly try and figure out how to bleach my hair back!" Clary's gleeful laugh filled the kitchen and bounced around the room, and it filled Jace's heart in a way he hadn't realized he had been lacking.

 _Now, my favourite songs at the moment are_ No Promises _by Cheat Codes and Demi Lovato,_ Hold On For Your Life _by Sam Tinnesz (holy shit, yes, so many times_ yes _, I absolutely love this song) and also_ Unsteady _by X-Ambassadors. With_ Unsteady _, I also completely push you to go onto Youtube and search the song and then 'DanceOn' to watch the dance video. Holy shit. My heart. Every. Single. Time. I watch this video. So give that a watch and let me know what you think :)_

 _The latest movies I've seen are_ John Wick 2 _...Not a fan of Keanu Reeves, but I fucking love these movies...And then the latest_ Pirates of the Caribbean _. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but me and my hubby were very happy with the end. We were like, if just one thing happened, we would be happy. And then it happened! Also watched_ Miss Sloane _. I absolutely love Mark Strong, and although I'm not the biggest fan of Jessica Chastain, she did an amazing job. And then, holy shit, and then_ Wonder Woman _. Omg. The DCEU finally did it! This was such an incredible movie! I've been in love with Gal Gadot for years and she did such an amazing job!_

 _Have any of you guys watched_ Famous In Love _? I'm really not a fan of Bella Thorne, but I've heard that the show is pretty good. Anyone watched it? Let me know if it's worth checking out? Ooh, and a special shout out to reppinda5o3 for watching_ Riverdale _and also lima17 for watching_ Sense8 _! More people to fangirl with. And also to Caaatttt for getting tickets to Ed Sheeran! Yeeeeah, girl! Just a year away, but we got this ;)_

 _OMG, and props to President Macron and his winning handshake ;) I'm loving the memes that have come out of that. Along with the meme's that have come out of 'covfefe'._

 _Also, a lot of people have been asking me about stories that I'm planning on writing, or posting in the future around Clace. If you want to talk about those or just generally fangirl with me, send me a message :)_

 _Leave a review, let me know what you think xx_


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey, guys! A little bit of a lengthy AN here, sorry. So, as we all know, real life unfortunately has to come first, even if I would love to just binge watch my favourite shows, with my kitties and my hubby, and type away all day. Anyway, I've gotten a new job, which I start in a few weeks time, and the hours are a lot better than the one I'm doing now, but it will take some adjusting to, and learning all new stuff, which means my brain will be a little fried at the end of the day. Also, there's some problems with my husband and his job, and recently a friend's younger brother committed suicide, which has caused a few stresses with my group of friends._

 _Bottom line is that my updating is going to be changing a little, just for the next few months, hopefully, until everything has evened back out again. So any stories that are on my regular updating schedule will be getting updated once a month, and any that aren't on the regular schedule, well, they'll be updated every few months._

 _Sorry about this guys, but that's just the way life goes some time. I appreciate your understanding and love xx_

Alec let out a long sigh as Magnus rolled off him, collapsing onto the mattress beside him, both men breathing heavily. It was almost eleven in the evening, and the house was completely silent, apart from their panting. Both boys were asleep, Jace was staying over at Isabelle and Simons house—under the guise of getting to know Maxci better, but probably partly to try and win over Simon—and Alec and Magnus had finally gotten some time to themselves. They had started with re-watching _A Scanner Darkly_ , and that had promptly been over when Magnus had rolled on top of Alec and jerked his sweatpants down around his ankles.

"You know, I quite like your cousin," Magnus announced as he finally started moving again, tying off his condom and slowly moving his legs off the side of the bed.

"Oh yeah, _that's_ who I want my man to be thinking about just after we finished having sex; my cousin," Alec huffed under his breath as Magnus walked into their adjoining bedroom. He ogled the Indonesian man's toned ass and thighs, still feeling a little out of breath, and gave him an appreciative smile when he came back with a damp cloth for Alec to wipe himself down with.

"You know you're the only man I think about while we're having sex," Magnus wiggled his eyebrows with a grin. "However, your cousin is pretty attractive, I'm not going to lie about that." Alec just rolled his eyes as he wiped himself down, and then dropped the damp cloth onto the ground, making a mental note to pick it up and throw it into the washing basket tomorrow. Their alarm would go off just before six, and they would have around half an hour to get themselves together before their sons started waking up.

"Yeah, yeah," Alec mumbled as he shuffled down under the blankets and reached over to turn off the lamp on his bedside table. He waited as Magnus got himself comfortable and then turned off the lamp on his side of the bed.

"I wonder how long we're going to have to wait until him and Clary get their shit together and get it on," Magnus mused out loud into the dark room and Alec jerked beside him.

"What?!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, come on, Alec. Even _you're_ not that blind," Magnus snorted and Alec narrowed his eyes, even though there was no way his partner was able to see the expression in the dark. "The pair of them, whenever they're together...It's just a matter of time." They were quiet until Magnus heard Alec rolling over in the bed, shuffling closer to Magnus and throwing a leg over his, tucking himself into Magnus' side. Magnus smile and put an arm around Alec, wiggling it under his head and holding him close.

"I know that there's something there...Just..." Alec drifted off. "I mean, I know Jace has been thinking about her—he's not exactly subtle with the whole staring thing he's got going on. But...I thought that he was just getting caught up in memory lane. And I didn't think that Clary reciprocated those feelings. I mean, she's made it clear time and time again that she wants nothing to do with that life anymore."

"Yeah, but just because she's done with all the fame, doesn't mean she's done with him," Magnus murmured. "That staring? That's not just on your cousins behalf. She's got a bit of an eye problem when it comes to him as well."

"Yeah, but you don't think anything's actually going to happen, right?" Alec sounded almost worried. "I mean, Jace is with that blonde chick, even though he says it's nothing serious, I'm pretty sure they're still in a relationship, and it's not like he's going to cheat on her. And Clary's not going to let herself get all caught up in that again."

"Caught up in that?" Magnus' voice was almost indignant. "In love?"

" _Love_?!" Alec huffed out. "I don't think any of these long looks you're talking about warrant any kind of word like _love_."

"Why not?" Magnus shrugged, and Alec felt the movement. "Falling back in love with someone that you've been in love with before isn't a hard thing to do, and with the way those two act around each other, I wouldn't be surprised. It's not as though they broke up because one of them cheated on the other, their lives just took them in different directions. And now," there was a slightly wistful twinge to his voice. "And now their lives have brought them back together again."

"I think that you might have watched too many of those Nicholas Sparks movies with Izzy," Alec commented.

"No!" Magnus shot back at him. "Well...Yeah, okay, maybe," he agreed after a beat and Alec let out a snort, shaking his head and pressing a kiss to Magnus' bare shoulder. "But my opinion remains the same. There's something going on between the two of them and it's just a matter of time before one of them acts on it."

"Okay, well, _if_ there is something between them, you're not going to do a damn thing about it," Alec announced, his voice firm.

" _What_?!" Magnus whine was almost pitiful.

" _If_ there is something between them, you're going to leave them to do their own thing and sort it out by _themselves_. You're not going to get involved," Alec stated.

"But where's the fun in that?!" Magnus protested.

"The fun is in the part where if things turn to absolute shit between the two of them, we're not dragged into the middle of it," Alec said warningly. "The two of them have a whole lot of crazy that they need to work through if they think they're actually going to be a couple again—and, to be totally honest, I don't know if they will."

"Why's that?" The playful tone was gone from Magnus' voice now.

"Clary took a long time to get over Jace, and what happened to her after that tape was released," Alec murmured. "I didn't see her for a long time, none of us did. She was in Australia, and it wasn't as though we were all that close when we were younger anyway. Her and Isabelle were friends, but not close friends—nothing like they are now."

"I already know this part, babe," Magnus nudged Alec along, trying to get to the point.

"Yeah, well, even when she first moved to Seattle, it was about three years after she had gone off the grid," Alec continued. "She was still crazy nervous whenever she went out in public, and she definitely never dated anyone. I think she slept with a couple of people, but she didn't get into any serious relationships—"

"So nothing much has changed, then," Magnus murmured.

"Yeah," Alec shrugged. "Her and Simon became good friends, and then Isabelle and I moved here...She still hardly ever talks about it, but I remember right after it happened, Jace would ring us, talk about the things he was hearing, what people were saying. They were ripping her to shreds, calling her a slut, guys were coming forward and saying the had done all sorts of things with her just to make her look bad..." Magnus let out a sigh, tightening his arm around Alec. "I think that's part of the reason why she's never really had a boyfriend, she just doesn't trust anyone new in her life."

"That's definitely part of it," Magnus hummed. "Our little biscuit has definitely been through a lot. She never really said much about why she broke up with Sebastian, but they seemed really good together, so I guessed that it had more to do with her past that their actual relationship." They were quiet before Magnus spoke again. "None of this changes my mind about the two of them, though...There's definitely something between Jace and Clary."

"And that might be the case," Alec conceded. "But leave them to do their own thing."

"You're lucky I have this dinner party to prepare for to distract me with," Magnus' tone was lighter again. "Or else I would be all over this match making thing."

* * *

 _So what's this dinner party going to be like? Anything I should know before I get into the middle of it all?_

Clary grinned as she looked down at her phone, at the latest message she had just gotten from Jace. It had just gone on half past eleven, but they had been texting for the past couple of hours, so it wasn't particularly strange that he was messaging her this late. Or, maybe it was strange that they were texting at this hour, given a month ago they hadn't seen or spoken to each other in almost ten years.

Whatever the case, Clary was ignoring whether it was right or wrong or unusual or anything. She was just enjoying having Jace back in her life. Right now, they were talking about a dinner that Magnus and Alec were hosting in a few nights time, inviting a few of their friends over and planning on having a couple of drinks. Isabelle was looking forward to having a baby-sitter for the night and throwing back a few glasses of wine, and everyone else was looking forward to Magnus' cooking, because it was always incredible, even if they had had it, it just seemed to get better every time.

 _It's nothing fancy, but it's fun. There will be about twenty-five, maybe thirty people there. Why—you feeling nervous?_

Her eyes went back to the TV, grinning as Emma Watson began dancing with Ezra Miller on screen, _Come On, Eileen_ playing loudly. Logan Lerman was doing his awkward little head bob thing, and her stupid smile just grew, like it always did when she watched this scene in the movie.

The smile had absolutely nothing to do with the response she got.

Nope, nothing at all.

 _As long as you're there, I'm sure I'll be fine._

Clary's shoulders bounced in time with the music, biting down on her lower lip as she stopped herself from replying with something she might regret later on. Instead, she put her phone down on her bedside table, and focused back on the TV. Maybe there was also a smile on her face that almost broke her face in two, but she didn't need to explain herself to anyone, just sit there and enjoy the warm glow that the last text had left her in the pit of her stomach.

 _The songs I would recommend this time around are_ The Other Side _by Ruelle,_ Unpredictable _by Olly Murs and_ Professional Rapper _by Little Dicky—watch the video for this one as well! I've got tickets to go see the new Spiderman movie this Friday! Pretty psyched about it. And on the subject of Zendaya, have you guys seen the trailer for_ The Greatest Showman _? Holy shit, she looks fucking gorgeous in it, the whole trailer does, really. Even by hubby thinks it looks amazing._

 _Let me know what you guys think of the chapter, and feel free to recommend songs or any fics :) xx_


	13. Chapter 13

_Alright—an update! It feels like forever, updating only once a month is so weird! I will get back to a more regular updating schedule soon, I just really need to adjust to my new working life. So on with the next chapter..._

Jace had to admit that he was feeling more and more trepidation as the dinner party at Alec and Magnus' drew closer. They had assured him that it would be fine, that although there would be quite a few people there, they weren't the type of people that were going to take photos and post them online or sell them to some tabloid. Jace tried to smile and show that he wasn't worried, but the quiet of being here without the press knowing or following him around in these past weeks had been such a relief that it was almost panicking him to know that it could be over.

"It's going to be fine," Isabelle soothed him as she opened the door to the guest bedroom where Jace was standing, adjusting his button down shirt. "Clary was famous as well, remember? And she meets with these people all the time."

"Yeah, but..." Jace broke off before commenting, but Isabelle's lips curled upward in a smile as though she knew what he was going to say.

"But she's not as famous as you?" She grinned. "Look, Magnus and Alec gave a couple of their friends a heads up that you're going to be here, but with the rest of them, just run with it, smile and wave and be your usual, charming self." Jace sighed and looked back at his reflection in the mirror, slipping a slim fitting jacket over his shoulders and then looked at his cousin out of the corner of his eye. She looked gorgeous, in a dark green dress that clung to her torso, flat stomach and toned thighs.

"You look incredible," Jace told her earnestly.

"I know," Isabelle sung out with a smirk."There's that charming self." Jace rolled his eyes at her but he felt a little bit of tension drain from his shoulders. "We've all got your back, okay? And if you need to get away, then just head upstairs. Upstairs is off limits, so you'll be alone."

"I'll be fine," Jace let out a breath through his teeth.

"Yeah, well," Isabelle tilted her head to the side, sticking her tongue out between her teeth. "You say you're fine now, however you may not be after you see a certain person downstairs..." she raised her eyebrows at him and then left the room before he could ask her what she meant. Apparently these dinner parties were something that happened about every couple of months, and while Jace would think that cooking for a bunch of people after running a restaurant practically seven days a week wouldn't be at all fun for Magnus, the man had sounded pretty damn excited about it. There was already some music coming from downstairs, and a couple of cars had pulled up in the past half hour or so. Jace had been the one to take the boys over to the babysitters, and he had only gotten back about forty-five minutes and he had quickly gone upstairs to get ready.

Jace was still trying to figure out what Isabelle meant as he jogged downstairs, and then came to a stop when he knew _exactly_ what she meant.

Clary.

She was wearing a simple black dress, which hugged her chest and then fell loosely around her torso and ended quite a few inches above her knees. There was nothing fancy about the outfit at all, which just spoke more to how well she pulled it off, her long hair pulled back in some twisted ponytail, with a couple of strands falling around her face. She was wearing a pair of gladiator style sandals which were tied up her calves, and Jace quickly looked away as she had to stretch across the bench top to grab a glass of wine and her dress rode dangerously up the back of her thighs.

"Here you go," Alec appeared beside Jace, holding something out toward him. Jace looked over at him and raised an eyebrow as he saw what his cousin was holding out.

A tissue.

"For the drool," Alec supplied with a wry smile. Jace rolled his eyes and walked off to join Isabelle, where she was talking to a couple of people. Isabelle had already almost finished off her glass of wine, and Jace knew that she was enjoying her night off from motherhood; she had been talking about how she was planning on throwing back a bottle of wine and letting Simon have his way with her as soon as they got home. Alec had cringed when Isabelle had said it, but Jace couldn't hold back his laugh. Isabelle threw an arm around him as he joined her, and introduced him to her wide-eyed friends.

And so it began.

It actually didn't go anywhere near as bad Jace had thought it might. While there were some big eyes and side looks from a lot of people, after the first few hours things began to settle down. Everyone seemed to be respectful and kept themselves from asking too many prying questions. The whole evening was relaxed, and no one was talking about their work, and it seemed as though that was what acting came into the category of for him. The house looked gorgeous, Magnus and Alec had cleaned the place up even more than it usually looked—it was normally neat and tidy, which was a miracle enough as it was, given they had two kids—and there were plates of finger foods and glasses of wine on most surfaces, and candles on the tables and window sills. Jace had a feeling that it was mainly Magnus behind the cutesy, vanilla and cinnamon scented candles, but he had to admit that they smelt good. Clary fit in well, flitting from group to group, only one glass of wine in her hand the whole evening.

When they all sat down for dinner, Jace was sat between Isabelle and a woman with blue and black hair who was a beauty therapist, who was softly spoken but with a blunt manner. Clary was sitting across from him, beside Magnus and another girl with platinum blonde hair, and throughout the dinner there were a couple of times where Jace caught her looking across the table at him. She let out a laugh when Magnus said something in her ear, and picked up one of the celery sticks from the platter in the middle of the table and stuck it in her mouth, tapping it against her lips idly.

Jace had to drop his eyes, because staring at pretty much anything near Clary's mouth wasn't taking his mind anywhere good.

"So it must be quite interesting, being here with Clary?" People had started leaving the table now, since they had finished dinner and dessert, but Jace was still sitting there with the blue haired woman, who's name was Aline Penhallow.

"Uh," Jace found his stomach twist a little uncomfortably. Despite the looks he had been getting throughout the evening, no one had actually addressed who he was—probably because they were scared of being on the receiving end of one of Magnus' evil looks—and certainly no one had addressed him and Clary. "No, it's...Fine," his voice sounded a little strangled even to himself and Aline's eyebrow lifted.

"From what I understand, you two haven't seen each other in the longest time," Aline tilted her head to the side. "It must be a bit of shock to the system."

"Yeah, I—" he pursed his lips together, letting out a breath through his nose. "I think I need to go outside for some fresh air." He gave Aline a tight smile and excused himself from the table. Instead of going directly out onto the wooden deck where he knew there were quite a few other people, probably with the same idea as him, he headed upstairs. There was a balcony that came off the guest bedroom where he knew he would be alone. He shrugged out of his jacket and dumped it on the bed before opening the door and going out onto the balcony. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the wooden railing.

"Did Aline scare you off?" Clary asked from behind him, and Jace jerked upwards, so he was no longer slouched over, and looked back to where Clary was standing. She gave him an easy smile, putting her glass of wine down on the side table by the doorway and then joined him on the balcony. "She's lovely, although she has no problem with asking the questions that no one else is asking."

"I guess she hit a bit of a pressure point," Jace murmured.

"I think old loves and ex flames are pressure points for everyone," Clary reassured him softly. Jace let out a snort and turned back to rest his hands back on the railing.

"Is that what we come under?" He asked.

"Well, I don't really know if we can classed as friends anymore," Clary shrugged as she moved to stand beside him, and Jace hoped that he didn't outwardly flinch at her statement, even though it was true. She put her hands on the wooden barrier, the short length of the balcony forcing them to stand shoulder to shoulder, almost touching. "I mean, we haven't seen each other in so long," Clary licked her lips and let out a breath. Jace tried not to focus on how good she smelt, and he shifted from foot to foot. He couldn't help but stare at her out of the corner of his eye—at the smooth curve of her neck, at the gentle purse of her lips, at the rise and fall of breasts and she took in each breath—he blinked, and quickly redirected his gaze. "Although..." Clary turned to face him, one hand dropping to her side and the other inching closer to his. "Although I want that."

"Friends?" Jace quirked an eyebrow, his shaggy hair falling in front of his eyes.

"We can start there," Clary shrugged, an unreadable look on her face. Jace smiled down at her, and turned around to face her, their chests only a few inches apart now. He tipped his head slightly closer to hers, almost as if on instinct, getting further into her space.

"So...As friends..." Jace's hand lifted, his fingers whispering over the top of her hand and up her arm. "Does this mean that we're going to take snapchats drinking Starbucks together and watching _Mean Girls_?" It was just meant to be an off-handed touch, because he had been dying to get his hands on that smooth skin all evening, but then he felt her tense and her lips tighten, and there was an imperceptive shiver that he might have missed if he wasn't watching her so closely.

"I could paint your nails while you braid my hair," Clary sounded as though she was trying to joke, but it came out a little breathless because his fingers had slid right up her arm and curled around her neck, his thumb brushing over her jawline.

"That sounds like it could be a good place to start," Jace licked his lips, and he watched her pupils expand as he saw her eyes follow the movement. He really didn't think he was going to get a chance like this, but she smelt good, she wasn't moving away from his touch, and from the way she was looking back at him, it seemed as though _maybe_ she wanted this just as much as he did. Jace felt his heart starting to beat faster as he made up his mind and began to lean in...

...Until there was a loud laugh below them, in the driveway, where there was a couple of people walking toward their cars, escorted by Magnus. Clary sniffed a little, a rueful grin on her face as she dropped her face.

"I think that moment may be effectively broken," she murmured moving away from him with a rueful smile. "I'll see you inside." Jace stared after her in surprise, his lips still parted.

 _Okay! I've seen a few new movies since the last time I posted._ Spider-Man: Homecoming, _which was amazing. Tom Holland is just too precious for this world, I absolutely loved how they did MJ and Ned was just amazing._ War for the Planet of the Apes _, which was also great, I feel as those movies just got better and better as they went on._ Baby Driver _was awesome, Ansel Elgort is just a babe and I feel as though the whole cast did an amazing job in this one. Last weekend I saw_ Atomic Blonde _and while I absolutely LOVE Charlize Theron, Sofia Boutella and James McAvoy, I just don't feel as though it was as good as I hoped it would be. It was good, but I just...I wanted it to be better? I don't know...This weekend we're seeing_ Dunkirk _, and that's had killer reviews, so I've got my hopes high for this one._

 _On the music front, ever since Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester concert, I've been really getting into Little Mix. I thought they did such a good job there, they were so enthusiastic and they were so energetic and so I actually listened to other songs by them. Before that stage I had only heard_ Wings _and_ Salute _, which I had liked but wasn't totally into. So anyway—I became completely obsessed with them. Completely obsessed. They are so fucking amazing! Their live performances are off the chart! I have no idea how they manage to sing and dance so well! Jesy Nelson is just...Holy shit, a total babe. And then last weekend, a friend of mine messaged me and she had tickets for their concert that same night that she couldn't go to! I didn't even know that they were in my country, and so me and another friend went, and it was absolutely amazing. They are just so fucking incredible. If you haven't listened to them before,_ Touch _and_ Secret Love Song _are my recommended songs. So fucking good._

 _Ooh, also, have you guys watched the short movie,_ In A Heartbeat _? Omg. Right in the feels. I don't know how many times I've watched it now._

 _Anyway—in regards to my actual story, the reason that you're here! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a review and let me know what you think, what you liked, what you didn't, etc etc...If you want a preview, let me know, and I'll send it out xx_


	14. Chapter 14

_Hi, my pretties! Updating only once a month feels so weird, I feel like it's been half a year since I've updated! But my life is starting to even out again, and so maybe next month or the one after I'll be able to go back to two monthly updates :) Now, something that I wanted to say, was that I've written up summaries for all the new stories that I'm working on, and I've put them up on my profile. So go check them out and let me know what you think of them! I'm always happy to talk about new stories if you guys have any questions or want to talk :)_

"Where are you off to?" Alec called out as Jace jogged downstairs from the second storey, keys swinging in his hand. They were keys for a car that he had ended up hiring—or, more correctly, that Charlotte had ended up organizing and hiring _for_ him, and having it dropped off at Alec and Magnus' house—because it was getting a bit awkward to keep borrowing Alec or Magnus' vehicles. They were out a lot of the time, and they needed to make sure there was a car at home whenever Isaac or Rhys were at home, in case something happened, and Jace hated inconveniencing them. Now he had a pretty black Corvette Stingray at his disposal in the driveway.

"Magnus said that he was having some problem with his car and asked me to pick him up," Jace replied with a smile, looking over Alec's shoulder to where the two boys sitting together on the couch, Rhys looking half asleep.

"That's weird," Alec frowned. "He never called me?"

"Yeah, he text and said it's because he knows it's the boys bed time coming up and he didn't want to drag you away," Jace shrugged. "So I'll go pick him up and we'll be back here soon, yeah?"

"Okay, sounds good," Alec still looked a bit confused but he walked into the lounge and joined his sons. Jace gave him a smile and waved at the boys before heading out the front door. It was a Monday night, so _Downworlder_ was closed for the evening, but Magnus had driven down there just after three o'clock and said that there were a couple of things he needed to check up on, which wasn't unusual for him. It was almost eight now and Magnus had text Jace to ask for a pick up because his car wouldn't start.

It was only a fifteen minute drive into town, and the Seattle traffic was nowhere near as crazy as New York, and Jace found that he actually enjoyed driving here. He hadn't come into town very often, other than going to pick up the boys from daycare and school, or visiting Magnus, mainly because he wanted to keep away from prying eyes. There had been a few days where he had gone sightseeing—taking Rhys and Isaac out so that Magnus and Alec could have some time alone, or going for walks with Isabelle and Clary, his baseball cap pulled down to shadow his face. He arrived at the restaurant and pulled around to the back, next to where Magnus' car was parked. He frowned when he saw another car parked there, one that had become very familiar.

A silver Mazda Atenza.

Clary's car.

Jace got out of his car and locked it, hoping that Magnus had left the side entrance to the restaurant unlocked. It was, and then he just needed to follow the voices.

"...I don't understand," he could hear Clary saying as he approached the main kitchen. "What's going on with your car? And why have you been cooking in here?" She paused when she saw Jace in the doorway, his eyebrows raised as he looked between Clary and Magnus. When Magnus saw him, there was something of relief that showed in his face and he grinned widely.

"Jace!" He stepped away from Clary to come over to the golden haired man.

"What's going on here?" Jace looked between the two of them.

"Okay, so; I just wanted to start with, Alec has nothing to do with this, so if this goes terribly, you can blame me," Magnus began and he received narrow eyed looks from both other parties. "But I really don't think it'll go that bad, because this is clearly something that both of you two need."

"Mags—"

"Magnus—"

"Nope!" Magnus cut them both of them off, holding up his hand. "If you two just head through that door, and enjoy your evening!" He clapped his hands together in a way that could most definitely be described as 'gleefully' and then skipped out of the kitchen, toward the back door, leaving Clary and Jace staring after him. Once he was gone, Clary turned to look at Jace, who raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, like he said, whatever this is—if it's goes wrong, we can blame Magnus," she shrugged. "And let me tell you, when Magnus feels guilty, he ends up cooking you a whole lot of cheesecake, cupcakes and cinnamon buns. I guess it's a win-win situation." Jace couldn't stop his smile, and then he glanced toward the door that Magnus had pointed at.

"Shall we?" He asked, holding out a hand.

"We shall," Clary grinned, reaching out to hook her hand into the crook of his elbow and let him lead her through. They reached the restaurant, which was almost completely dark except for one table near the centre, where a cluster of candles were lighting it up. Both came to a stop as they realized exactly what was going on—and Clary slid her hand out of where it was on his elbow and let it fall to her side. There were two plates that were steaming with food, that looked absolutely delicious, as expected from anything that Magnus cooked. "Uh, so this is what's going on."

"We really should have seen that one coming," Jace tried to hide his amused smile, but he really couldn't. Clary pursed her lips together and then took in a deep breath.

"Well, we might as well eat," Clary said, although she looked a little uncomfortable, which was the first time in the past few weeks. Jace wondered if it was still polite to pull out the seat for her even though this was by no means a date, but Clary was already sitting down by the time he had made a move forward. Jace sat down opposite her, and clicked his tongue as he searched for something to say.

The first fifteen minutes was awkward silence and strained smiles over their glasses of water. Jace hated it, because it had felt as though they had gotten to a place where they were comfortable with each other, despite the awkwardness the first few times they had seen each other, but now that they had been thrown into some sort of date mode, it changed the vibe completely. Then Clary took in a deep breath and put down her fork.

"Okay, so...How's it going?" The words were abrupt and Jace's eyes widened in surprise at her.

"Like; in general or something specifically?" He replied haltingly.

"Uh," Clary licked her lips. "General, I guess?"

"Um...Good?" Jace cut another piece of steak and bit into it, letting out a quiet moan at the burst of flavor in his mouth. When he looked back over at Clary, she was staring at him, her lips parted. "Uh—and yourself? How's it going?" He attempted to run with her line and she just gave an off handed shrug.

"So...How long are you planning on staying around?" Clary stabbed at the lettuce and cucumber on her plate.

"Why, you trying to get rid of me?" His lips curled upward in a smile.

"Yeah, well..." Clary scrunched up her nose a little, but even though her face was tipped downward he could see the upturn of her mouth, which was a move in the right direction. "Rhys and Isaac are definitely taking a shine toward you, and I don't like the fact you may be moving up to one of their favourite people. It's a threat, and threat's are not to be taken lightly." Jace's eyebrows lifted and he looked over at her, and then let out a laugh.

Conversation flowed easily after that.

"How's your mum? Is she still with Luke?"

"Hell yeah she is," Clary grinned. They had been at the dinner table for over an hour now. Jace had been worried that when they finished eating, Clary was going to make a break for the door, but she hadn't stopped talking, retelling a story about how Simon had gotten so drunk the weekend before him and Isabelle had gotten married, that he had climbed onto a bar and dedicated a song to her— _Total Eclipse of the Heart_. He had been loud and proud about it, and Clary had said that she had a video of it that she would show him later. "Her and Luke are still as disgusting in love as they were back when we were filming."

"Oh really?" Jace grinned as he leaned back in his seat, tilting his head to the side.

"Yup," Clary put her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand. "It's kind of amazing, right? How long they've been together and they're still head over heels for each other? They're currently touring around Greece at the moment."

"That's incredible," Jace shook his head. "You don't hear of that many couples still together after all this time..." he shrugged. "That's just really cool. Although, I guess that they escaped from the spotlight, which lifts a whole lot of pressure." Clary smile became a bit more sympathetic.

"What about you and Kaelie? I mean, I know you said you guys weren't all that serious, but she seems to be one to enjoy the camera," there was an undertone of disgust in her voice, but she was trying to keep her expression neutral. "How does she feel about you being all the way out here while she's back in the city?" Jace pursed his lips together and then looked down at his empty plate in front of him.

"I've only spoken with her twice—"

"Twice?!" Clary's eyebrows flew up. "It's been, what, two months?!"

"I said we weren't serious!" Jace protested and Clary let out a laugh.

"That's more like...Casual acquaintances, not even a casual girlfriend," Clary shook her head.

"And you?" Jace tried to ignore the way his stomach twisted as he prepared to ask his next question. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"Well," Clary pondered the question. "I've got two pretty serious relationships going on right now, and I really can't decide between the pair of them. I'm head over heels in love, really." Jace frowned at her, trying to figure out what she was playing at with the big eyes and almost dreamy voice. Clary's grin widened. "Rhys and Isaac are the only men in my life other than Magnus, Alec and Simon. No one else." Jace was glad about that, but he hoped that wasn't too obvious on his face.

"So Magnus just decided to throw you onto the first eligible bachelor?" Jace teased and Clary rolled her eyes as she stretched out her legs under the table. Their legs brushed together in a completely casual way that made Jace swallow hard.

"Actually, Magnus has been pretty pointed about staying out of my love life, it's Isabelle who has a habit of putting her nose where it doesn't belong," Clary rolled her eyes. "Clearly he likes me."

"Well, I've been told I have an Award Winning Smile," Jace responded wryly and Clary gave him a long look. "No, no really," Jace continued. "I've literally won awards because of this smile," he gave a sarcastic grin and pointed at his face. Clary just rolled her eyes. "You've got a real good life here, though," he murmured. "And with Magnus and Iz and Alec and Si and the kids...It's great," his voice sounded a little wistful, even to his ears. Clary gave him a smile, and this time the touch of her calf against his under the table was more pointed, and Jace pressed back.

"It can be your life too, Jace," she told him softly. "I know that you've got a whole _other_ life, but that doesn't have to be all of it. You're welcome here whenever." Jace scrunched up his nose and looked down. "Well...It's almost ten," she looked down at the time on her phone. "Maybe it's time to head off home."

"Yeah." She was probably right even though he didn't want to go. "Should we do the dishes and shit?"

"Uh, no," Clary let out a laugh and shook her head. "I don't think so. Magnus set this up, he can take care of the dishes. Although, we should probably take everything into the kitchen and blow out all the candles." Jace nodded in agreement. He started piling their dishes up while Clary put out the candles. They carried everything into the kitchen, rinsing them underneath the tap before turning off the lights.

"You know, I had a good time tonight," Jace bumped his hip against hers as they got outside and paused before parting toward their cars. Clary locked up the restaurant with a key on her key ring and then looked up at him. It was dark except for the faded glow coming from a couple of street lights, and maybe it had something to do with the pretty candles, or the good food, or the soft invitation into her life whenever he wanted, he wasn't sure. But whatever it was, she seemed to feel it as well, because Clary lifted herself up on her tiptoes and brushed her lips to his.

It was chaste and soft and short, and it was still the best kiss that Jace had had in ten years.

"I'll, um, see you around?" Clary mumbled as she pulled away from him, and even in the dim lighting he could see that her cheeks were a little red.

"Absolutely," Jace breathed out as she spun around and walked over to her car.

 _Sooooo...I saw_ The Hitmans Bodyguard _last weekend with the man and a few friends, and it was fucking hilarious. I definitely recommend. Another movie I watched a week or so ago was_ Below Her Mouth _. It was on Netflix and yeah, okay, it's about 80% sex scenes, but I absolutely fucking loved it. Erika Linder is just...Holy shit, she is fucking beautiful. So both of these, I recommend! One that I'm a little iffy on is_ Friends From College _. My husband and I watched it all in the space of one weekend. The cast was incredible, they're all good actors and they all had so much chemistry with each other—Felix was my absolute favourite—but I felt so, so, so angry at the end. I won't explain it on here because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but shit I was angry at the end!_

 _Now, song wise...Lili Reinhart's cover of_ Wicked Games _. Holy shit. It's absolutely beautiful, and I have played it so many times on Youtube, it's insane. The other songs I've had on repeat recently are_ Havana _by Camilla Cabello,_ Fight Like A Girl _by Zolita and_ Bird _by Billie Marten. I've also put some of my old songs on my phone to play at work, and so I've been listening to Flyleaf—my favourite by them is_ Marionette _._

 _Also, has anyone listened to the song_ 1-800-273-8255 _by Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid? It's absolutely heart breaking and completely beautiful. Their performance at the VMA's had me all tearing up. Holy shit._

 _As usual—recommend songs, movies, fics in the_ Riverdale _,_ Teen Wolf _and_ Mortal Instruments _categories! Sometimes I do take a while to get around to all your recs, but I do get there! And don't forget to check out the summaries on my profile, and let me know what you think!_

 _Pleeeease leave a review, my beauties! They make me super happy, and I've got a preview for anyone who wants one :) xx_


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey guys, here's the update._

When Jace got home that night, he heard Magnus and Alec arguing behind the closed door of their bedroom. It wasn't loud, they were both making sure to keep their voices down, undoubtedly because they didn't want their boys or Jace hearing them, but Jace assumed that it was about him, because as soon as he opened the bedroom door for the guest room and it squeaked, they fell silent. He eyed the door across from his, wondering if either of them were going to come out. Just as he made the decision to go into his room, their door swung open and a nervous looking Alec and a smug looking Magnus peeked out.

"Hi?" Jace raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh," Alec pursed his lips, shooting a glare at Magnus out of the corner of his eye.

"How'd it go?!" Magnus asked, clearly completely used to the dirty looks that Alec gave. He shoved his partner out of the way so that he could move into the hallway.

"It was..." Jace paused, seeing the way both Alec and Magnus watched him. Alec with nervous worry and Magnus with barely contained excitement. "It was good," he finally told them, and Magnus let out a cheer, waving both of his hands over his head. The relief on Alec's face was clear, although he instantly furrowed his eyebrows again and went back to grumbling that he had _told_ Magnus to stay out of their business. Magnus started going on about how he had known what he was doing was the right thing, and so Jace decided to retreat to his bedroom and close the door, leaving the two men to it.

* * *

Clary got home to a dark house, and she was glad that she decided to leave the lights off as she walked down her hallway, because the ridiculously stupid grin she had on her face wasn't one she needed to see reflected in the hallway mirror. She still didn't really know exactly what had happened at dinner that night, but all she knew was that she felt happier than she had in a _long_ time, and that was a feeling that she wanted to chase after.

Jace.

Jace was back.

And the way he looked at her...The way he had been looking at her ever since he came back had made her wonder if he still had feelings for her, if the same awareness of their close proximity was affecting him as well. He had reached out and touched her hand and arm at the dinner party, and her brain had felt as though it had short circuited. If they hadn't been distracted, Clary didn't totally trust herself that she wouldn't have dragged him back into the bedroom and had her way with him on the bed. She imagined that he would look a little different than when they were younger—his body would be more developed, probably more muscles, less soft than it had been...

She really shouldn't be thinking about what his body would feel like under her fingertips just before she went to bed.

Clary let out a shaky sigh as she reached her bedroom and flopped down, face first, on her bed. She managed to keep still all of two seconds, before letting out a happy squeal into the duvet and bouncing her legs.

* * *

Three days past before Jace finally plucked up the courage to call Clary. He had wanted to call her the morning after their dinner—hell, he had wanted to call her that night—but he had stopped himself. He didn't want to push things between them and he had to get his head in the right space before he saw her again, so he had given them a few days both to think things over before he contacted her. Jace had suggested they meet up for breakfast, asking her for the best place in the city. She had offered to cook for him, and so he found himself half an hour later, on his way to her place.

In the weeks that he had been there, he hadn't yet been to her place. He spent most of his time bouncing between either Isabelle or Alec's, and sometimes he went into the city to pick up the boys from school or kindergarten or visit Magnus at his restaurant. He almost always avoided going out in the public, not wanting to risk beng recognized and alerting people to his whereabouts.

There was a big wrought iron gate barring the driveway, and he pressed on the buzzer, waiting for Clary to let him in. He drove inside, his eyes lifting as he approached the house. It looked about the same size as Alec and Magnus', and while their house was all warm brown coloured bricks and wooden window sills, her house was one of those more modern ones that seemed to entirely made up of glass and steel. Her car was parked out the front and the front door was wide open.

"Clary?" He called out as he stepped inside, toeing off his shoes and kicking them toward a pile of sandals, ballets flats and ankle boots.

"Yeah! In the kitchen!" Clary yelled back. "Oh, right—you don't know where that is," she sounded as though she mumbled that to herself, but he could hear her, so she must be close. "Just follow my voice!" Jace laughed to himself as he walked down the hallway, noting the pictures that were hanging on the walls. Of Clary with Simon, then with Simon, Isabelle, Alec and Magnus, with the kids, with Jocelyn and Luke. He paused at the ones of Jocelyn and Luke, noting how happy they both looked with wide smiles. Jocelyn's hair was shorter than it had been before, and Luke wasn't wearing glasses like he always used to, and he wondered if perhaps he was wearing contacts. "Hey, are you lost—" Clary broke off as she came into the hallway and saw him standing there.

"Oh, sorry," Jace smiled at her. "I was just looking at these," he waved his hands at the framed photos.

"Yeah," Clary glanced at them with a fond look before nudging his side with her elbow. "Come on, breakfast's ready." Jace nodded, looking at the photo on the end one last time—Clary with Rhys and Isaac, the two boys hanging off her side with wide grins on their faces and an adoring smile on Clary's face. The kitchen looked over the backyard, which was a stretch of cut grass and hedges around the outside, and a pool in the corner. The wide doors were open, letting in the fresh morning breeze, and on the counter were two plates piled with food.

"Shit," Jace raised his eyebrows. "That's impressive." He walked over and looked at the ciabatta bread with eggs and bacon, a salad on one side, and a puddle of holandaise sauce on the other side. "Eggs benedict?"

"Yup," Clary nodded as she picked up one of the plates and walked over to the table.

"I remember when you could barely cook pasta," Jace grinned as he picked up the other plate and followed after her. There was a jug of water on the table and two glasses, and she filled them both up before leaning back in her seat. "Or when you set the toaster in my old apartment in fire because you put cheese on the toast _i_ _n the toaster_ —"

"I was thirteen!" Clary protested, but she was grinning and her eyes were shining. Jace couldn't think of a witty reply because she looked so pretty sitting opposite him, with glowing eyes and shining skin and dimples pressing her cheeks. So instead he ducked his head forward and started eating. There was the sound of forks and knives against plates for a few minutes before Clary spoke again. "If I remember correctly, you're the one who tried cooking a pizza in the oven, completely forgot about it, and smoked out the apartment and turned the pizza unrecognizable."

"Hey!" Jace coughed out a laugh as he quickly tried to follow his food. "Yeah, okay, so that might have happened, but I'm pretty sure you were the one ultimately responsible for that pizza."

"How so?" Clary quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You were working out in the next room! You were in those tiny, white shorts that you used to where and a purple sports bra and—" Clary was staring at him and Jace faltered. "What?"

"You have a pretty vivid memory," she stated quietly, looking back down at her food.

"My memory is pretty damn good when it comes to you," Jace responded with a small smile, not wanting the conversation to take too serious a turn this early in the morning. "Especially when it comes to you in tiny shorts and a sports bra." Clary looked back up at him and barked out a laugh, the seriousness gone once more.

They didn't talk about the dinner and the following kiss from the other night, which might have been a good thing, but they did talk about when they were younger. That had the potential to go into territory that would make them uncomfortable, but somehow they both knew what to say without making the other nervous. It made sense, given how well they had once known each other, and that sort of thing didn't just go away.

"Aw, you have my movies," Jace cooed teasingly over his shoulder after they had finished their breakfast and gone into her lounge. He was thumbing through her DVD collection, which was pretty impressive with two large bookshelves. "How cute. You watch me from your sofa with a bowl of popcorn?" He grinned as he came over to sit next to her on the couch, folding his legs and facing her, their knees bumping together.

"Or I watch you in my bed with a glass of wine," Clary wiggled her eyebrows at him and Jace's eyes widened a fraction.

"So, uh, what's with all the DVD's?" There was a slight catch in Jace's, probably thinking about Clary in lingerie with only a glass of wine and a movie of him to keep her company. "Netflix and hard drives not good enough for you?"

"The boys love DVD's," Clary replied. "They love lining them up in the order that we're going to watch next. Plus, there's something pretty satisfactory about having them all alphabetically sorted." Jace snorted and rolled his eyes.

"You get satisfaction out of the weirdest things," he grinned at her.

"I feel as though it's _far_ to early in the morning for me to expand on _that_ statement," Clary fired back at him, waving a finger in his face with a laugh, and then let out another giggle as Jace swiped at the finger in front of his face, pushing it away. "So? You have plans today or you feel as though you're up for a morning watching re-runs of _How I Met Your Mother_?"

"Sounds perfect," Jace grinned at her as she picked up the remote with one hand and turned on the TV, flicking through her line up before finding season one. It isn't until about ten minutes into the first episode that Jace realizes the hand she had picked up wasn't the one that she had been waving in his face. And that was the hand he had grabbed, and apparently not let go of, because their fingers tangled together a few moments later, neither of them commenting on it.

 _Let me know if you'd like a preview._


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey guys! So I'm back with a new chapter. Now...There is good and bad news. The good news is—this is the second update in the month! Yay! The bad news is...This is my last update of the year. I always go on a bit of a break over Christmas time, and I know that this is a bit earlier than my usual time, but I've got a lot going on in my life right now, and I just think that now is the best time._

 _However, I promise I will be back with more frequent next years! And also, if you guys have prompts or songs that you want me to work into a oneshot, send them through—as a thank you for sticking with me and a sorry for a bit of an extended break. Obviously I won't be able to do all of the requests, due to time restraints and also simply because sometimes an idea or song just doesn't resonate with me, but I will try my hardest! The ship/characters for the fic don't have to be limited to this fandom, you can check out my profile for other fandoms and ships that I love!_

 _Also, I've got the first chapter of four new stories up, so go check them out :)_

There wasn't any type of label for what Jace and Clary were together, or what they were doing, but they were enjoying themselves. There wasn't too much physical action, although there was one evening after they finished eating a dinner Clary had cooked for the pair of them and they were washing dishes, and Jace leaned over and kissed the back of her neck. It had been impulsive, and he had been worried that he had overstepped a line. But she had turned around, her hands damp from the dish washing water, and had kissed him firmly on the mouth. Other than that, it was just brief goodnight kisses before they parted ways, or holding hands when they were sitting on the couch watching TV.

It was the most PG sort of dating Jace had experienced in years, and it was definitely the best.

Although they weren't dating.

They were just...Kind of _being_ together.

Jace was almost too scared to ask Clary what she wanted from them, because he didn't want to scare her off, and he was also too scared to ask because he didn't know what _he_ wanted. Anything with Clary was going to be serious, no matter how fleeting it was. It had only been a few months and already he felt his palms getting sweaty when she was around and his heart beating faster in his chest at the thought of spending time with her.

There was one night when it looked as though maybe Clary was going to talk to him about something that was making her nervous, which he thought would likely be about them, and _what they were_ , but in the end she hadn't said anything. Instead, she had stretched out on the couch, putting her head on his lap and nudging at his hand until he started stroking her hair, and she had made a contented noise at the back of her throat.

Magnus looked happy about the pair of them together, and Isaac and Rhys were definitely happy because it meant Clary was coming over even more than she was before. There was an afternoon where they had taken the two boys out during a Saturday, so that Magnus and Alec could have some time alone together. They got ice cream and went to a park, the two boys playing while Jace kept his baseball cap and sunglasses firmly on his face, even though it was overcast and he got a couple of funny looks from people around them. Jace just couldn't get over how nice and domestic it felt, sitting on a bench with Clary, their fingers linked together while they watched Isaac and Rhys shouting and laughing, playing on the swings and chasing each other around the jungle gym.

Alec and Isabelle, on the other hand, weren't quite as happy about the development. It wasn't that they looked annoyed, and they definitely hadn't said anything, but Jace could see the way their eyes flickered between the pair of them when they were all together.

And Simon, of course, was still just giving him the evil eyed look every time he was in the same room as Jace. Jace still wasn't one hundred percent certain what it was Simon had against him, so he was just continuing to think along the lines of the fact that Simon was being overly protective of his friend, and he was trying to be respectful of that.

* * *

"Clary?!" Simon called out, rapping his knuckles against the door.

"Simon?" Clary must have been in the hallway because she opened the door after only a few seconds, grinning at him. "Hey! What you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd stop by," Simon smiled at her, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You busy?"

"Not really, just doing some painting," Clary answered. Simon followed after her, noting that she was wearing an old pair of jean shorts that were already smeared in paint from previous occasions, and there was a streak of gold paint over her cheek bone. The closer they got to the back of the house, the stronger the smell of paint got. The back doors were wide open and she had her easel set up just outside on the balcony, over looking her back yard.

"That's not particularly surprising," Simon noted as he glanced over her latest work before continuing past the easel to sit down on the the wooden steps that lead down to the back yard.

"What's that?" Clary raised an eyebrow as she looked over her work.

"The colours," Simon gave her a wry smile as he glanced back over his shoulder at him before resting his elbows on the steps above him, so that he was leaning back, the warm sun beating down on him. Clary stared at her painting—hues of gold and yellow and warm orange all swirling together—and her cheeks burned red as she realized Simon was completely right. It was blatantly inspired by Jace, and the face that was beginning to form amidst the wispy brush strokes definitely resembled him. She put the two paintbrushes she had been using into the glass jar of mineral water that was sitting on the wooden table next to her and moved to sit next to Simon on the steps.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Clary asked.

"Nah," Simon shook his head and grinned. "I took the day off because I needed to take Maxci to a doctors check up, but she was determined to go back to day care afterward, kept whining about the sandpit."

"Aw, poor dad," Clary teased him. "Just don't measure up next to the sandpit."

"Guess not," Simon laughed. "Anyway, I wanted to come and see you, so it worked in well." Clary gave him a curious look, stretching her legs out in front of her so that they caught the sun. "I wanted to talk to you about Jace," he continued, the smile on his face fading and his voice becoming more serious. Clary pursed her lips together and looked away from Simon, out toward her pool and the large tree that overshadowed it. "Clary..." his voice was soft. "What are you doing with him, aye?" She let out a long sigh through her nose, looking down at her fingers and becoming focused on a stain of gold on her palm, scratching at it.

"I don't know, Si," she answered honestly.

"Do you really think it's the best thing to be doing?" He murmured. "I mean, you've got insane history with this guy. I didn't know you personally back then, but I remember it being all over magazines and there's still posts coming up about the two of you on Facebook now!" Clary cringed at that, knowing what Simon was talking about. She had become used to her live of anonymity, but even after years away from the spotlight, it still surprised her when photos of herself popped up every now and then. "So whatever you've got going on...It's serious—"

"It's not!" Clary began to protest.

"It _is_ ," Simon's voice was still soft, obviously not wanting to cause any problems with her. "Nothing with you and Jace have is going to be just a fling. I mean, you might call it that, but I've the seen the way you two are together, and the way you look at each other," he scratched the side of his face and sighed. "Clary, I don't think it's smart."

"I'm fine," Clary stated as she itched at the paint on her skin.

"What about Kaelie?" Simon asked. Clary fell quiet, pursing her lips together and feeling a cold shiver run down her back, just like it always did when she thought about the bimbo. She tried not to think about the woman, because every time she did there was a horrible twist in her stomach. Jace hadn't mentioned her since they had first spoken about her, back when he had first come to Seattle, and as far as she was aware, there hadn't really been any communication between the pair of them. It was easier just to pretend that the girl didn't exist.

"That's between him and her, not me," Clary said.

"Oh, come on," Simon's voice was inching toward something that sounded exasperated. "If this was your boyfriend, and he was doing what you're doing with him, then you'd be fucking pissed at the other girl as well." Clary swallowed hard, her breath getting stuck in her throat. "And I mean, what's going to happen? What's going to happen when he goes back to his life? Because I know you, Clary. Maybe I didn't know you then, but I know you now, and I know that you don't want anything to do with that life! Being with him is just going to drag you right back into the scene that you've tried so hard to avoid."

"Simon," Clary finally looked up at him, and he noted that her cheeks were flushed, maybe slightly out of embarrassment, maybe a bit annoyed. "This is my choice. We're not really doing anything, we're just hanging out. And he's already told me that he and Kaelie aren't serious, it's more just about putting on a show for the camera."

"So if you were seeing someone and saying that it 'wasn't serious' you'd be okay with him spending time with a girl that he used to be in love with while on the other side of the country?" Simon pressed. Clary let out a huff and stood up, running her fingers through her hair, flipping it over her shoulder. "Clary...You're going to get hurt. I just...I don't want that to happen."

"I know, okay? I know!" Clary snapped at him, shooting a narrow look over her shoulder before looking back toward the backyard. A look of hurt flashed over Simon's face before he ducked his head, and she instantly felt bad. "Si...I know you're just looking out for me. And I love you for that," she rolled her shoulders to try and get rid of some of the tension that had settled in her muscles. If she was being completely honest with that, even though she had been enjoying her time with Jace, everything that Simon was saying had been sitting at the back of her head. "I'll figure it out, okay? At the moment, I'm just having fun." Simon looked as though he disagreed with her, however he didn't say anything. Clary breathed out through her nose, crossing her arms over her chest. She heard movement behind her after a few minutes and Simon was standing.

"I love you, Clary," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "Just be careful," he concluded before turning around and heading back toward the house.

 _Alright! So, my recommendations this time...Songwise, the ones I've had on repeat are;_ Somebody New _, by Cedric Gervais. Fucking loooove it, my husband hates it, but I play it loud as hell when I'm the only one in the car. Haha._ First Time _by Kygo and Ellie Goulding, this one is cute and sweet, makes me think back to being a teenager. Then there's_ Easy _by Sky Ferreira, which is just beautiful, from the movie_ Baby Driver _, and the last one is_ Too Much To Ask _by Niall Horan, which is just so pretty._

 _Movie wise, I've recently seen_ Kingsmen 2 _, which was fucking great, although my favourite character...*quietly sobs in corner*. Also_ It _, which was great as well, the kids were all so fucking brilliant in that movie, and I have to admit, I ship Reddie. I think they're absolutely adorable. Bill Skarsgard did an amazing job. And then tomorrow, I'll be seeing_ Thor: Ragnorok _! It looks amazing, so fingers crossed._

 _And then in the TV show area, I've just started watching_ The Gifted _, which is pretty good so far. Also binged the second season of_ Shooter _, which I've really enjoyed, and I hope that there's more! Another one is_ Wynonna Earp, _which took me a while to get into, but I love it now. Wynonna and Waverly are just fucking amazing. And then there's just the general shows that I've been keeping up with, like_ How To Get Away With Murder, Gotham _and_ NCIS: Los Angeles _, all of which are great._

 _So! Let me know what you guys think of the chapter, let me know if you guys have any prompts or songs you want me to write about (any of the fandoms I'm in, check my profile, and keep in mind I will try to write them, but can't guarantee all of them) and absolutely recommend any songs, movies, tv shows or fics to me!_

 _There's a preview of the next chapter for a review... xxx_


	17. Chapter 17

_I'm back! We're 2018! It does_ not _feel like it at all. Haha. It still feels like 2017. Anyway, I hope that you all had a great Christmas and New Years, fun but safe (even though that make me sounds like a mum). Mine started well and then I had a bit of an accident which is taking a while to recover from, but we'll get there. And I hope that the first month of 2018 has been great! I've got a few concerts coming up which I'm psyched about—Ed Sheeran, Pink and Halsey, so that's awesome._

 _Now, my official updating schedule is kicking off from February, this update is just to get all my stories updated and get my oneshots posted. Check out my profile for the schedule. There are a variety of oneshots posted in quite a few categories, so make sure you check them out, along with my profile for the updating schedule going forward!_

Clary was good at blocking things out, at compartmentalizing.

She had to learn it when she was younger, when she was acting, and she had to become completely absorbed in a character while there were twenty people standing around and staring at her, shining lights on her face or telling her to move her body this way, or tilt her head that way. Once the sex tape had come out, every time she went out in public or to an event or even just when she was filming with the crew on the set of _City of Glass_ who had grown to be like family to her, she had to hide how horrible she felt inside. When she left everything behind, it was like starting a whole new life, and once again, she was blocking out the past few years of her life and moving on with being a _normal_ person.

It had been a while, though, since she had needed to do that though.

In the life she had built for herself, she didn't need to pretend. She had people in her life that knew who she was, knew who she had been, and she didn't need to hide anything. Admittedly, as an artist she was still keeping her true identity a secret, but that was for her own privacy, because she knew what it was like to be in the spotlight, and she knew that that wasn't what she wanted anymore.

What was going on with her and Jace, and the third factor of _Kaelie_ however...That was something she was finding it harder to block out. Especially since Simon had just voiced everything that she had already been thinking.

"Hey!" Jace gave her a funny look, raising an eyebrow. "You here with me?" He asked with a grin, although he looked a little concerned.

"Yeah, I'm good," Clary blinked a few times, pushing all thoughts other than Jace and whatever he was thinking they were going to do today to the back of her head. "So? You said you had a plan?" Jace grinned, the worry from his eyes disappearing and he clapped his hands together.

"I did a thing," he told her earnestly, his eyes twinkling.

"A thing?" Clary cocked her head to the side.

"A thing," Jace confirmed with a nod, grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the house. He seemed so excited that Clary couldn't help herself from laughing. His rental car was parked right outside her door, and he let go of her hand to open the boot. Inside, was a large wicker basket—that Magnus had ever so conveniently had lying around the house—and he opened the lid to let her see inside. Also, big thanks to Magnus, who had told him about all the food Clary liked now, and Jace had remembered things like fresh pineapple and strawberries from when they were younger. When he turned back to look at Clary, she was just staring into the boot. "What?" He faltered, feeling as though he had done something wrong, given she wasn't smiling at him anymore. "I thought...I thought that maybe we could go on a picnic? You know, like we—"

"Like we used to," she finished, breathing out heavily.

"Yeah," Jace's cheeks were flushed pink as he ducked his head.

"It sounds perfect," Clary murmured, reaching out to touch his forearm. He was wearing a grey henley that was rolled up to his elbows, and Clary had already checked out the bulge of his biceps a hundred times in the past twenty minutes they had been together.

"Great," the relief showed on Jace's face as he let out a breath. "So let's go, Magnus told me a spot." Clary nodded and quickly jogged back up to her house, grabbing a jacket from the coat hooks behind the door and then closing and locking the door securely behind her. Jace was holding open the passenger door for her, and he reached forward to kiss the top of her head as she moved past him. It was a simple, sweet gesture that made her stomach clench and flip over as she slid into the seat.

Back when they were filming almost every day of the week, there was hardly ever down time, hardly ever anytime to themselves. There had been one setting that was used in most of their episodes, which was on the edge of their other sets, a grassy patch with a cluster of trees. Somewhere in the middle of the second season, Jace and Clary started hiding out there when things got too hectic on set, smuggling picnics in and eating them in the cover of the trees.

It made her mind fill with all sorts of fuzzy feelings that he was recreating that for them now.

But as they reached the field with a pond that Clary had brought Isaac, Rhys and Maxci multiple times when she was babysitting them through the day, Kaelie entered her thoughts again. Clary tried to push it back as Jace parked the car and they got out, laying out the thin blanket that Clary recognized—one of Magnus and Alec's—and settled down.

"Tell me," Jace murmured after a few minutes. The sandwiches she was eating were amazing, but it was mechanical. It would be difficult for someone who didn't know her to tell that something was wrong, but for someone who had once been able to read every micro-expression on her face, it was easy.

Kaelie.

Jace had Kaelie.

They weren't serious, but they were most definitely a thing.

And Clary was kissing him.

She was kissing him, and going on dates with him.

Because that's what this was.

A date.

"Kaelie," Clary admitted quietly, putting down her sandwich on the plastic plate in front of her and pushing it away. She looked up at Jace, who was chewing a whole lot slower than he had been before, the smile that had been on his face gone. He finished his mouthful and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "You told me that you weren't serious about her...But you're still a couple. You're still... _Together_." Jace licked his lips and looked down, putting his hands flat on his thighs, rubbing them up and down as he thought about his response. "And I'm...I mean, I'm not one to judge. I know that it's pretty common for people in the spotlight to have arrangements—you know, together with someone who's happy to put on a show for the cameras but then leading separate lives with other people in private—but...But I didn't think you were like that. And I've never been that 'other woman'."

"You're not the 'other woman'," Jace snapped out, his voice hard edged, and Clary blinked up at him. "Shit," he sighed, and pushed his plate of food away, resting his palms behind him and leaning back, looking up at the sky. It wasn't as sunny as it was an hour ago, but Jace was becoming used to Seattle's quickly disintegrating weather. "I never wanted you to feel that way."

"Well, I mean—it's not like we've talked about this or anything, but there's something going on between us..." her voice drifted off and her eyes flickered between his. "Right?" She sounded tentative.

"Yes," Jace agreed fiercely, reaching forward and wrapping a hand around her wrist. "Absolutely." Clary felt her heart beat faster in her chest as he turned her hand over, tracing his finger over her smooth palm. "If you...If you want this to be something." Clary bit down on her lower lip, watching the movement of his finger.

"I don't know where it can go," she admitted softly. "I'm here, and you're _everywhere_ , especially when you're filming. You get attention just walking down to the grocery store, and I've managed to keep under the radar for almost ten years. And you—you have a _girlfriend_."

"I have Kaelie," Jace murmured. "Kaelie isn't the same as a girlfriend." Clary made a noise at the back of her throat that sounded frustrated, and she jerked her hand away deom .

" _Don't_ say things like that, Jace," she stated. "That just makes you sound like an asshole, using a girl like that." Jace pursed his lips together, lowering his eyes, feeling his cheeks heat up at the chastisement. Clary folded her arms over her chest and looked out toward the pond. There were a couple of kids who had been playing, but their mother was calling out to them, telling them to get into the car because the sun had gone away, and it looked like it was going to rain at any moment. Clary had felt happy before, she had been enjoying the idea of spending another day with Jace, once the boy she had loved, now a man that she...A man that she could possibly fall in love with again.

But _Kaelie_...

"I didn't mean to sound like that," Jace replied quietly. "All I meant is that the arrangement that me and Kaelie have, it isn't one where we think it's going to last. We used to have fun together, but mainly we're just together because she likes being able to take selfies with me and post them to all of her Instagram followers, and tipping off the press when we're going out for lunch or dinner together."

"And what do you get out of it?" Clary raised an eyebrow together. "I know you, Jace Herondale, and you're not selfless."

"Charlotte told me that I needed a relationship," Jace answered honestly. "I'm not sure how aware you are of the bad press I got for quite a few years—"

"If I recall correctly, you still get that bad press _now_ ," Clary interrupted.

"Yeah, well...It happens," Jace looked a little sheepish as he scratched his head. "Charlotte thought that it would be better if I was in a relationship, and she suggested a bunch of woman that I know through meet and greets and shit, but I didn't want to be with any of them."

"Why?" Clary asked.

"Because I knew that it was only ever going to be temporary," Jace answered. "I knew that it was only ever going to be a means to an end. I didn't want to be with someone who thought that it was going to be a serious relationship and was going to get hurt when I broke it off," he narrowed his eyes as he looked at Clary. "Which I _will_ do. I'm not going to stay with Kaelie—not now. It's just I've been so caught up in everything going on here, and I wanted to do it in person, so I was going to wait until I went back to New York."

"But..." Clary's mind was swimming. Did that mean Jace wanted her to go back to New York with him? That wasn't something that he had ever mentioned, they hadn't even discussed defining their relationship!

"I'm not asking for anything from you," Jace continued, as though reading her mind. "I wouldn't—I _couldn't_ do that. I'm doing it for me," the corners of his pink lips quirked upwards. "Because being out here has showed me what I can have, and I don't think I can go back to what I had with her after this." Clary nodded mutely and Jace dragged in a deep breath. "For the record, I've never cheated on Kaelie. I don't think she's ever cheated on me, but I don't know that for certain. There's been a ton of photo's taken of me with other woman, but they've all been either friends or co-stars. The fights that we apparently have all the time? It's bullshit. We sometimes argue, yeah, but it's nowhere near as bad what the tabloids and gossip columns say."

"The drunk and disorderly? The fights with paparazzi?" Clary pressed.

"Now you're starting to sound like Charlotte," Jace grumbled under his breath and Clary almost smiled at how similar he sounded to a petulant five year old. "I'm tired of being followed of everywhere. I'm tired of being surrounded by people who _aren't real_. I'm just...I'm just _tired_ ," he didn't know how to explain it. "But being out here, being with you and Alec and Isabelle and your families, it feels so...So—" he was stuttering, not sure what he was meant to say. "So good," he finished lamely, even though there was so much more that he wanted to convey. "It feels right." Clary's face had gotten softer, and she reached out and put her hand on his knee. "I just...I want to keep that feeling for as long as possible, so that I can remember it when I leave."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Clary told him earnestly. "You don't have to be cut off. We're your family too. You don't need to stay away, even when you go back to your everyday life."

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Jace said, letting out a long breath. "I just...I kind of want to pretend like that part of my life just doesn't exist."

"That's not exactly healthy," Clary retorted, although her mouth was beginning to curve upward. The air around them felt thick, with tension and emotion, and the sharp breeze that was promising rain whipped at their cheeks.

"Maybe," Jace gave a one shouldered shrug as he looked directly at her, his golden eyes boring into her. "But being here is just so much better than what I've had in so long, and I don't want to waste any of my time here thinking about what waits for me in just a few weeks." Clary swallowed hard, his intensity making it hard for her to breathe. "I don't want to waste my time _with you_."

She should wait until he broke up with Kaelie.

Despite everything he was saying, _he was still someone's boyfriend._

And they led completely separate lives—a six hour flight was what connected them, and that was when he was home, not even when he was travelling to be on location for a movie.

The probability of this working between them was ridiculously low.

The probability of her getting her heart broken was ridiculously high.

But as the heaven opened up above them and the rain began to fall, Clary couldn't stop herself from scrambling forward, onto his lap, and pressing their lips together, wrapping her arms around his neck.

 _Okay! Let me know what you guys thought! Let me know if you liked it, if you didn't, what your favourite part was, etc etc._

 _Alright, now I've got so many song and movie recommendations given the gap in updating, so I'll limit it down. Movie wise,_ The Last Jedi _and_ The Greatest Showman _are both absolutely incredibly. Especially_ TGS _. Holy shit, the songs and the costumes and the dances, they were all amazing. I don't even know what my favourite songs from it is..._ This Is Me, Rewrite The Stars, Never Enough, From Now On _...I just don't know! And TV series recommendations would be_ The Gifted, Black Lightning _and_ The Runaways.

 _Songwise,_ I'm Gonna Show You Crazy _by Bebe Rexha,_ Him and I _by Halsey and G-Eazy,_ Missing You _by Blake McGrath,_ Never Enough _from The Greatest Showman,_ My My My _by Troye Sivan,_ Dynasty _by MIIA and_ Phases _by French Montana._

 _Let me know what your own recommendations are! I note down all your song, TV series and movies suggestions so I can get around to them when I have time!_

 _Make sure you check out my other updates and let me know if you want a preview of the next chapter xx_


	18. Chapter 18

_A bit of an exciting chapter here, something quite a few people have wanted to happen. I know that there's a bit of controversy given Jace's relationship with Kaelie, so hope you guys still enjoy it..._

The drive back to Clary's felt as though it took a whole lot less than the ride to the park. They were both shivering in their wet clothes, and exchanging looks every couple of seconds and laughing. Jace turned the heat up, but it didn't kick in soon enough to fight off the chill they were feeling by the time they pulled up outside Clary's house. For a moment, Jace hesitated, wondering if he read their kiss wrong. Their conversation had covered several topics, and not all of them were good—but then Clary unbuckled her seat belt and gave him an expectant look as she rested her hand on the door handle.

So Jace followed her inside.

There was a tension as they kicked off their water logged shoes and Jace peeled off his jacket, wincing as it dripped all over the floor. Clary had already started walking down the hallway, leaving a wet trail behind her, and Jace stepped into the lounge, looking out the big, glass windows to where it was raining outside. It had been such pretty weather before, with blue skies and a shining sun, not a cloud in sight. Now, it was completely grey outside, the rain coming down hard against the window panes.

In New York, the rain was just messy, and he hated it. But in her house, out in the middle of the country with no cars getting stuck in traffic and angry pedestrians trying to hide underneath their umbrella's, it was kind of beautiful. The rain was hitting the trees outside, a slash of lightning splitting the skies abruptly and making him blink.

"It's different from the city, right?" Clary's voice was soft behind him, and he looked over at her. She was still wearing her damp clothes, which were sticking to her body and accentuating the curves of her breasts and the dips in her sides.

"It's not a bad different," he responded, his eyes unabashedly looking her over. Clary smiled a little, her cheeks pinking.

"Uh," Clary licked her lips as she lifted the towel she was now holding and scrubbed at her hair, drying it off as best she could. "I've got some of Simon and Alec's clothes left here, I think a pair of sweatpants and a shirt, you could put them on while your clothes dry?" She suggested. Jace nodded, and followed her as she walked back down the hall. She went up the stairs at the far end, which curled upward to the second floor, and Jace took in the new space of her house with wide eyes. Despite how many times he had been there in the past few weeks, he had always stayed on the first floor. There were more photos on the wall, more art work, and when they got to the second floor, he stopped again to look out the windows. Just like the first floor, the outside walls were all made of steel and glass, and he could see even further from here.

"I don't think I've said this before, but you have an amazing house," Jace murmured.

"Thanks," Clary had to raise her voice so that he could hear her. That reminded him that he had been following her, and he dragged his eyes away from the view that stretched on over the surrounding fields to walk into the room that she was in, _her_ room. She had pulled off the shirt she was wearing, and was standing in front of the mahogany set of drawers with a fancy, circular mirror on top of it. She sensed him behind her, and she lifted her eyes from where she was digging around in one of the drawers, looking at his reflection in the mirror. Her teeth pulled her lower lip as she gazed back at him, taking in his jeans that were clinging to his thighs and the henley that was practically painted against his muscular chest.

Jace swallowed hard as he stepped forward, coming right up behind her, only an inch or so away from her body. He lifted his hand tentatively and touched her bare hip, feeling her tense and shiver as soon as he touched her. He saw her throat clench as she swallowed hard, and when she didn't move away from his fingertips, he trailed them up her side until he reached her bra.

"Jace..." she breathed, her voice husky, deeper than it used to be but just as sweet. Jace slid his hand around so that it was flattened against her stomach, spreading out his fingers so that they spanned across her front. He gently encouraged her to turn around so that she was facing him, and he gazed at her, looking almost enraptured. Her breasts were fuller than they used to be, and right now they were heaving up and down as she breathed heavily, her chest flushed a pretty pink from the cold and nerves. She used to have a well defined abdominals from all the work outs and gym visits that had been required when she was in the film industry, but Jace liked the way she looked now. Softer around the edges, more mature, filling out her womanly curves.

"You're gorgeous," Jace murmured as he leaned forward, nuzzling at her jawline, breathing in the scent of her perfume that was mingled together with the fresh scent of rain and the underlying smell of paint that had clung to her skin for as long as he had known her. "You've always been gorgeous, but..." he took in a deep breath as his other hand reached for her hip, curling around so that he was holding her firmly against him, feeling the goosebumps break out over her flesh in response to his touch. He kissed her damp shoulder, close mouthed and chaste, not wanting to rush her into anything that she wasn't ready for. When she didn't make a move to push him away, he kissed her again, this time closer to the curve of her neck. And then again, this time his teeth touching her skin and he felt her jerk as though she had been touched by a live wire. He knew how she felt, because right now he felt ready to shake out of his skin with the need to touch her _more_. "I can't believe that I haven't touched you in so long..." he rasped out.

"Jace," this time his name sounded more like a desperate plea and Jace lifted his head just in time for her to bring her lips to his. Jace shifted his hands so that they were clasped together at the small of her back, her lips instantly urging his apart, and his tongue flicked into her mouth. It curled around hers, tasting the warmth inside her mouth which contrasted with the cold of her lips. "Jace, I—" he wasn't sure what she was trying to say, but he guessed it was along the lines of getting them onto the bed, because she took a step forward, nudging him toward the bed which was in front of the massive glass windows. Jace turned them around so that Clary reached the bed first, falling backwards against the dove grey duvet cover.

She bit down on her lower lip, her mouth looking red and slick with spit, and her green eyes were glowing. She looked so much like the girl he remembered, but then so different at the same time. She wasn't a girl anymore, she was a _woman_ , and Clary was still inviting him in. He bent his knees, leaning forward to kiss her again, slow and sweet, as though they had all the time in the world. He skimmed his hands up and down her side, re-learning her body, before his hands came down to her shorts, touching the button. Clary's response was to lift her hips, and he undone the button and the zipper, tugging it down her leg, so that she was left in just her bra and underwear.

"You're so beautiful," Jace murmured, almost reverently. Clary's cheeks began to turn red and she reached forward to grip his shoulders and pull him forward to cover the fact she was beginning to blush again. This kiss was a little more heated, and she rolled her hips up to meet his. Jace hissed through his teeth, needing to feel her against his skin, rather than through his wet jeans. "I'm really sorry to break the moment," Jace cringed as he pulled away from her and she lifted an eyebrow in question. "But these clothes are making it extremely difficult to move right now." Clary let out laugh and grinned.

"Are you just saying that coz you're trying to get naked with me, Mr Wayland?" Clary teased and Jace felt his heart swell at the way her eyes were dancing. It had been a long time since he had had sex with someone who smiled and laughed halfway through. Maybe he had just become jaded after having sex with supermodels and actresses who were more interested in putting on a show for him that actually enjoying themselves.

"Just trying to even the playing field," Jace teased back, kissing the tip of her nose before pulling away. Jerking off wet clothes that were clinging to his body had absolutely no elegance to it, and when he finally managed to get down to his briefs, Clary was laughing at him without trying to hide it, shaking her head as he kicked his jeans across the room, ending up in a wet pile. "Way to make a guy feel good about himself," Jace rolled his eyes as he jumped onto the bed, making her body bounce up and down and causing her to laugh harder.

"Oh yeah, as if you could ever feel bad about yourself," Clary rolled her eyes as she glanced him up and down, tracing her fingers over his chest and down to his stomach, her thumb brushing against the skin just above the band of his briefs.

"Yeah, well—" whatever his response was disappeared when Clary wrapped one arm around his neck and pulled him back down for a kiss. He managed to get her bra off, their chests pressed together so that he could feel her hardened nipples. He was hard in his briefs, and he already felt closer to coming, which was ridiculous given they hadn't really done anything yet. But just the way her fingernails were scratching up and down her back, and her hips were thrusting upwards to meet his movements was making his whole body shudder. She let out a gasp as he wiggled a hand in between them, sliding underneath her underwear. "God, Clary..." he breathed against her lips. "You're already so wet."

"You always did this to me," Clary's body twitched as two of his fingers slipped between her lower lips and gently brushed against her clit. "Shit—Jace! We can take our time later. Right now—" her words broke off again as he pinched at her clit and her hips jerked. "Right now, _please_ , Jace."

"Yeah, baby," Jace murmured, finally pressing two fingers firmly against her clit and rubbing. Clary's breathing came out all uneven, one hand gripping his hip and the other one curling into a fist while clasping the duvet cover. Her head was tossed back, showing the pale column of her throat, and he reached down to kiss it. He didn't let up with the pressure against her clit as he leaned forward and bit down at the skin there.

"Jace...Jace...Jace—fuck," she mumbled as her nails dug into his hip almost painfully. He felt her stomach muscles contracting, and it was at that point that he let his fingers slide down to slip inside her for the first time. "Shit!" Clary cried out, her back arching violently off the bed as he felt her gush over his fingers, soaking through her underwear and probably the duvet cover underneath them. She slumped down, burying her head in the pillows as she tried to catch her breath. Jace looked down at her, at her swollen lips and heaving chest, and he felt his cock pulse in his briefs at how freshly fucked she looked. He braced one hand to the side of her head and put his hand down his briefs, taking himself in his hand. There was pre-cum gathered at the head, a wet spot in the fabric as he started to jack himself. "Wait, no..." Clary batted his hand away, reaching down. "Let me."

"Shit..." Jace sighed as her smaller hand slipped around his cock. She slid her thumb underneath the head, spreading the pre-cum and using it as lubricant as she moved her hand up and down, squeezing and twisting her wrist on the upstroke. Jace closed his eyes, gritting his teeth together as she moved her hand faster. "Clary—" he choked out as he felt the pressure in his lower abdomen release and he came over her hand and on his lower stomach. He collapsed forward, careful to twist to the side so that he fell on the bed beside her and not right on top of her smaller body. For some time, they both just lay there, sticky and catching their breath.

"So that happened," Clary finally commented and Jace let out a laugh, stretching out to kiss her on the cheek.

"It did," he said.

"Wanna shower and then nap?" She suggested with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"Sounds perfect."

 _Soooooo? What'd you guys think? Leave a review, make me happy, tell me what you enjoyed, what you disliked and let me know if you want a review :)_

 _Alright, so...My favourite songs haven't really changed, I'm still pretty much listening to_ The Greatest Showman _soundtrack, literally on repeat four times in the weekend. I also fell back in love with_ Love Me Now _by John Legend —that man honestly has the voice of a God and I'm completely head over heels in love with his wife —and also_ For You I Will _by Teddy Geiger, which was one of my favourite songs when I was a teenager. Another one I really like is_ Stronger _by Inna._

 _TV show wise..._ Happy! _is fucking incredible and so is_ Black Lightning _. Another one I watched the whole first season of in a day was_ Beyond _, although it's not as good as the other two. Not bad though._

 _I haven't really seen any new movies...Although I'm ridiculously psyched for_ Black Panther _._

 _Let me know songs, fics, TV series, I love hearing what you guys are enjoying! Look forward to hearing from you beautiful people xx_


	19. Chapter 19

_Bit of controversy over the last chapter, which I completely understand, and I think talked about with most people who were logged in and PM'd me. If it's not your kind of thing, I completely respect that, and if you're still here, then I'm glad you decided to stick the story out :)_

It was still grey and raining outside when they woke up, but the sky was even darker and when Clary blinked to clear the sleep from her eyes, she could see that it was just after six in the evening. She stretched her arm above her head, arching her back and letting out a long breath through her nose before rolling onto her side to look at Jace, who was still fast asleep. He was only wearing a pair of loose basketball shorts that Alec had left behind a few weeks ago.

They had stripped out of their clothes and stepped into heat of the shower after they had shaken themselves from the post-orgasm haze. Clary had dragged her body downstairs with their wet clothes and threw them into the dryer, setting it on a timer before going back up to her bed and climbing in with Jace. It had felt so right, curling up next to Jace's hard body with his strong arms wrapped around her. It had been a long time since she had fallen asleep next to anyone—other than Rhys or Isaac—and despite the things that had changed, there was an undeniable scent of Jace that comforted her.

"You're staring," Jace mumbled, his eyes still not open. Clary raised her eyebrows and then huffed out a laugh, letting her eyes fall closed as she pulled her duvet up around her shoulders. Jace remained still for a few moments longer, before he lifted himself up on her elbow to look down at her. "You're beautiful," he told her earnestly, his golden eyes burning down into hers.

"So you keep saying," Clary teased lightly.

"Well, I mean it," Jace's voice was sincere, and the mocking smile dropped off Clary's face, melting into a much more sincere one, her eyes lowering to his mouth. "It's just...I never thought that we would be in this position again, I never..." Clary swallowed hard, he watched her throat contract. "I never thought I would get to see you again, in all honesty. And definitely never like this." She jerked her head in a nod, as though agreeing with him. Jace leaned forward, letting their lips meet softly before he moved away gently, laying back on the bed beside her, wiggling one of his arms underneath her neck and tugging her closer.

"I know what you mean," she said quietly. They lay there for a while before Jace cleared his throat, obviously preparing to say something. "What is it?" Clary asked, rolling over and tangling one of her legs with his, resting her open palm on his chest, over his heart.

"I know that I said that I wasn't going to ask anything from you," Jace began and he felt the hand on her chest tense up. "And that's not what this is, I'm not asking you to do anything, I was just wondering..."

"What?" Clary prompted.

"Have you ever thought about coming back?" There were so many things that he could mean; back to New York, back to him, back to acting, back to the spotlight...He wasn't completely certain which one he was asking—maybe all of them. Clary took in a breath through her nose, curling her fingers slightly so that her nails scratched lightly at his skin. She was quiet for a while, and all that could be heard in the room was the sound of their breathing and the rain hitting the glass beside them.

"When I first left...When we first moved to Australia, I thought about it," Clary began. "I mean, it was all I had ever really known, ya know?" Jace nodded, prompting her along. "Jon had never wanted anything to do with acting and shit, and he was never really around, but it had always been a part of my life, and my mums. I think that mum had been looking for a way out for a while, she had been acting for so long, she was ready to retire from it. And since being on the set with Luke—I don't know, it seemed as though they were both looking forward to get out. They definitely had enough money to keep themselves comfortable. They were ready to be done with that life."

"And you?" Jace murmured.

"Maybe, at the time, it wasn't so much about me being ready to leave acting behind, it was more about me running away," Clary sighed, wiggling her nose. "And I...I felt guilty, for a long time as well, about leaving you behind, having to deal with the fallout of the tape getting released _alone_."

"Clary, that was never something that you needed to worry about," Jace told her, his arm around her tightening. "I could look after myself."

"Well, yeah, I know that, it's just it still felt that way," Clary shrugged as best she could from her position. "When the tape first came out, you defended me at every turn. You remember that premiere that we went to?" Jace knew exactly what one she was talking about. It was a premiere for a movie that Luke had been in during one of their off seasons, and they had gone to the opening night in support for him. There had been the typical shouted questions and flashing cameras, most of them directed at the bigger actors around them, given at the time, Jace and Clary were more just known for their small screen work. But then the questions had turned toward the younger couple, asking about the tape—did they know they were being filmed, did they release the tape for publicity, how long had they been sleeping together.

Clary had felt a panic attack beginning to rise in her throat when a particularly enthusiastic paparazzo had jumped right in front of them, shouting in Clary's face, and Jace had reacted, shoving his hand out and pushing the man away, throwing the camera to the ground and kicking at it viciously.

That was one of the last times they had been in public together.

"I felt as though you were always trying to look out for me, to make things better between us, but I just left you, without much of an explanation," Clary twisted her neck, resting her chin on his chest. "But it was just...It was so _hard_ , even on the set of _City of Glass_ —these were people that I had grown up with and that I knew really well and who knew me really well...They all gave me weird looks, some of them sympathetic, some of them as though they just expected it from me at some point."

"I know what you mean," Jace breathed out heavily through his nose. "It feels that way a lot of the time, with a lot of the things that I have ended up doing over the years. With the drinking and the partying and the girls..." he made a face.

"I _hated_ that," Clary stated. "I hated those looks. And that tape," she clenched her teeth together. "That tape was just the first, you know? It took me a while to click, telling myself it was just a one off, that maybe if I came back, people would forget about it, and I could move on. And yeah, that would happen, but the tape would always be there, and it's what people would always associate with me," she raised an eyebrow. "I know that sometimes you still get questions about it." Jace jerked his head in a single nod. It wasn't very often, but it still happened. "So I think that stopped me at first."

"And then what was it?" Jace asked quietly.

"And then I realize how much I liked not needing to watch what I said, or did, or wore," the little wrinkles on Clary's face relaxed as she moved on from the discussion of the sex tape. "I went to University, I kept my head down for a while, and it's surprising how many people don't recognize you when they don't know who you are. And I _liked_ it. I really _liked_ it. So when I began painting, and people wanted to buy them—hell, to pay a lot of money for them—I talked about it with my mum, we decided I wouldn't use my name." Jace could understand that. It wasn't what he wanted, he wasn't done with seeing his name in lights and his face on posters, but he understood that it wasn't for everyone.

"You never regretted it?" Jace questioned softly, even though he already knew the answer. Clary's pink mouth gave him a small smile that was almost sad.

"No," she shook her head. "I never did. This is my life now, and I love it. I mean...I'm sorry that I left you behind. I loved you—" Jace's heart squeezed at that comment. "But I was young, and my whole life was on display for everyone. I had never really had a normal life, and I had no idea what I had been missing out on."

"When you told me that you were leaving," Jace took in a shaky breath. "When you told me you were going, I thought it was because of me. I thought that maybe you blamed me. Charlotte and Alec told me it wasn't, but I never really believed them." Clary frowned and shook her head rapidly.

"I never blamed you, Jace," she answered. "I promise that I never blamed you. I just," she gave a one shouldered shrug. "I just needed to be my own person, not the person that everyone thought I was, or thought I should be. And I needed to do that away from thousands and thousands of people watching me. And now, I don't regret it at all." From the way that she was looking at him, she knew what she was saying to him as well. That she was answering his original question.

They were from two completely different worlds.

And neither of them wanted to leave the ones they were in.

Clary licked her lips and pursed them together, tapping her fingers against his chest a few last times before rolling away. They were both quiet, thinking about what she said. Jace eventually pulled his arm out from underneath her neck and sat up, running his hands over his face. Clary watched him carefully.

"You okay?" She asked him, reaching out to lay her hand on his back.

"Yeah, I'm just..." he pressed his thumb against his temple. "Thinking, I guess." Clary nodded, sitting up as well as folding her legs in front of her, shuffling forward so that she was sitting directly behind him, trailing her fingers down his back. She leaned forward and kissed the curve of his shoulder. She felt a shiver run down his spine, and Jace subconsciously leaned back against her.

"I don't regret this, though," she whispered. "I've never regretted you." He reached back for her hand, linking their fingers together and squeezing.

 _Okay._

 _So, I had my movie/TV show/song recommendations all written up, but then Wednesday happened, and I kind of wanted to say something and it didn't seem right to put them in here along with this._

 _So...I'm going to start this with; I don't understand. I can't comprehend. I have absolutely no idea what the people and the families of those involved in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida are going through. I can't even imagine what...What they're feeling or how they're doing._

 _I just...I don't even know how to put what I personally feel into words, and then I think about how shit and selfish that is, because I'm halfway around the world, and yet there are people who were_ there _, people who were_ in that school _, and they've been incredibly brave by doing interviews or getting out there via social media about what they went through, and what_ needs to happen _. I watched an interview with one boy who put it well, "We are children. You guys are the adults. Work together, get over your politics and get something done."_

Yes _._

 _Where I live, the last time we had a mass shooting—which is defined where four or more people selected indiscriminately, not including the perpetrator, are killed—was in 1997. In my life time, there have only been three. From what I understand, there have been_ eight school shootings this year alone _in the US. I just—I can't even understand that._

 _I don't usually put things up about national/international events, but there were kids my baby brothers age...There were_ fourteen year olds who were killed _. How do we live in a world where someone can do that? I was absolutely bawling my eyes out when I was reading the updates and watching the videos that kids had posted and I just...I don't understand._

 _I just wanted to say I'm sorry._

 _To anyone who is directly or indirectly affected._

 _To anyone who lives in the US and this is a constant fear for you._

 _Because that's really all I can say xx_


	20. Chapter 20

_Next chapter, beautiful people!_

Everything that Clary had told Jace had been the complete truth.

She didn't regret leaving the spotlight behind her.

She didn't regret keeping her life private.

She didn't regret painting under an alias to make sure attention wasn't draw to her.

She _liked_ going out in the middle of the day, walking down a crowded street without needing to wear sunglasses and a cap to obscure her face, without people running up to her and asking for a selfie or an autograph. She had always loved her fans, that had never been a problem, but the lack of privacy definitely was the problem.

If she came out as Jace's girlfriend—or as Jace's _whatever_ , they definitely hadn't discussed what they were, and technically Kaelie was still his girlfriend, but that was something she didn't want to think about—then a lot of that privacy would be gone. At least when it was all new and the press wanted to get the behind the scenes story; how long have they been in touch, when did they get back together, did Jace cheat on Kaelie for Clary, when's the wedding—

Clary almost gave herself a panic attack just thinking about it, and so instead of replying to Jace's texts, asking if they could meet up and have coffee, or if he could take her out for dinner, she turned off her phone, put her music on loud and painted. She painted through the night, falling asleep on the couch for a couple of hours some time after three in the morning, and then waking up and going right back to painting. She vaguely remembered having a shower, and eating an apple, but everything else was just about the painting; the swipe of her brush and the smell of the paint. And just like any other time that she got tunnel vision, she lost track of time, and when Isabelle let herself into the apartment with her spare key, Maxci in her arms, Clary blinked in confusion at her.

"We had plans," Isabelle stated with an amused smile. Maxci waved her arms around, holding a spit-wet dummy in one hand.

"For Thursday lunch?" Clary tilted her head to the side, blinking a couple of times as she looked at her friend, her eyes a little out of focus after concentrating on one canvas for so long and now needing to shift her gaze.

"And it is now Thursday, half past one," Isabelle informed her and Clary made a face.

"Shit," she muttered. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine," Isabelle smiled at her knowingly. "I fed Maxci, and I stopped by a sushi bar on the way here and picked up some food. So if you go and shower, then we can eat." Clary sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, wincing when she looked down at her hand and saw some tacky paint on her hand, which she had probably just swiped through her hair. Now that she was being distracted from her painting, she became aware of the fact that her shoulders were tense from being in the same position for so long, and her feet were aching.

"Shower sounds good," Clary agreed with a wince as she rolled her shoulders and lifted a hand to rub the back of her neck.

"Yeah, you look like you need one," Isabelle grinned and leaned forward, taking an exagerated sniff. "And you smell like it to." Clary narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue, which made Maxci giggle and stick her tongue right back.

"Oh thanks," Isabelle rolled her eyes. "That's gonna be the next thing we have to try and get her out of." Maxci giggled, waving her chubby arms around and looking up at her mother, sticking out her tongue proudly. Clary grinned as she reached forward to drop a kiss on the little girls head, and then also to Isabelle's cheek before heading upstairs to her ensuite.

Clary wasn't too sure how long she spent in the shower, but she knew it was a while, because her fingers and toes were beginning to turn pruney. She had a bad habit of loosing all concept of time when it came to her art work. It didn't happen very often, it was only when she really needed a distraction that she got completely lost in her painting, and she really wasn't too sure whether that was a good thing or a bad one that fooling around with Jace had brought this on. Clary turned off the shower and stepped out, drying off and walked into her room. She changed into some clean clothes and then picked up the ones she ha dumped on the ground, taking a sniff and then making a face.

It had definitely been a couple of days she had changed.

When Clary came back downstairs, Isabelle had gone around and opened up all the windows on the ground floor, along with the double doors that lead out onto the balcony and the backyard. It was overcast, but still warm enough outside that Isabelle had laid out a blanket for Maxci to sit on the deck, playing with a couple of toys that Isabelle had brought along for her.

"You look better," Isabelle noted as Clary joined her after throwing her clothes in the washing machine and turning it on.

"Yeah," Clary flashed a smile as she pulled out a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and a glass from the cupboard, filling it up and taking a sip. "I feel better," she smiled as she heard Maxci gurgling. "Sorry about bailing on lunch. I was just painting, and I totally forgot—"

"It's fine," Isabelle interrupted her. "I get that you've got a lot going on at the moment and you needed to escape from your a bit. You're just lucky enough to have me to pull you out," she smirked. "Now, come on. Let's eat." She pulled out two plastic containers with their sushi out of a bag, along with chopsticks and handed one set and one container over to Clary. "Bring me a glass of juice as well."

"Sure thing," Clary got out another glass and filled it with juice, taking them both outside. Isabelle was sitting on the wooden steps, a couple of feet away from where Maxci was playing with her toys, safely away from the ledge of the deck. When Clary opened up the plastic container, she used her chopsticks to pick the first piece up and put the whole thing in her mouth, barely chewing before swallowing. "Oh my god. I don't actually remember the last time that I ate," she mumbled as she stabbed at the next piece. Isabelle gave her an amused look as she ate her own sushi at a much slower pace.

"How are you feeling?" Isabelle asked a couple of minutes later.

"I'm fine," Clary said through a mouthful.

"Is that why Jace hasn't heard from you in the past four days?" Isabelle pressed.

"I've had my phone off," the red head shrugged. "You know I don't answer my phone when I get into the zone."

"Yeah, _I_ know that," Isabelle raised an eyebrow. "But I don't think he knows it. It sounds like something happened between you guys—I don't know what, he didn't go into detail—but _something_ that seemed pretty important, because he seems to think that you're avoiding him." Isabelle left the last few pieces of sushi in the container and pushed it away, resting one of her arms behind her, bracing herself as she leaned back. "Are you?"

"Am I what?" Clary muttered.

"Are you avoiding him?" Isabelle's voice was light, as though they were having a casual conversation, but Clary knew her better than that.

"Not on purpose," Clary answered honestly. "I started painting, and I didn't realize how much time passed."

"So you're not freaking out because you've gotten in to deep with a guy that was your first and probably your only love, who is completely involved in a life style that you actively avoid, and who technically has a girlfriend, even though it's not serious?" Isabelle stated, her tone a little more serious this time. Clary breathed out heavily through her nose and put down the empty container, pushing it away from her.

"Well, when you put it like that, would it really be any wonder if I wanted a few days to myself?" Clary asked with an arch of her eyebrow.

"Nope," Isabelle shook her head adamantly. "Absolutely not. If you need a couple of days, or hell, a week, then you do that." Clary didn't say anything, just waited for Isabelle to continue because she could sense a 'but' coming. "But—" Clary's lips twitched. She knew it. "—You need to talk to him, so that you are both on the same page."

"I know," Clary nodded. "We did talk, a bit..." she trailed off, focusing on Maxci, who was now on her stomach, sucking on the corner of one of her soft books. "I just don't know if we're going to be able to make it work." She snorted under her breath. "I mean, like you said, Kaelie is still his girlfriend."

"I'm pretty sure you would just need to blink in her direction and Jace will be done with her," Isabelle said bluntly. Clary scratched behind her ear and wiggled her nose before dropping her gaze, looking down at her fingers.

"He said that he's going to break up with her," she murmured. "He's just going to wait to do it face to face."

"Makes sense," Isabelle nodded. "Kind of an asshole move to do it over the phone, even if she is a floozy." Clary felt her lips curl into a smirk at the words. "But what about you and him?" The smile promptly dropped off her face. "What's going to happen with you guys?" Clary took in a deep breath and parted her lips, letting the breath out.

"I'm honestly not sure," she admitted. "He asked me if I had ever thought about going back. I told him about how it felt when I left, and how good it was to put distance between myself and that life, and that I never regretted it..." she tapped her fingers against the wood of the step, making a staccato beat that drew Maxci's big brown eyes. "And I didn't. I think that it was the best thing for me, and I love Luke and mum for encouraging the move." Clary bit down on her bottom lip before wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her chin on one of them. "I still love him, Iz," she whispered, the words making her heart skip a beat at finally admitting them out loud. "I mean, I know that it's been years, and I know that some things will be different and we need to get to know each other all over again, but I _still love him_."

"I know, baby," Isabelle whispered as she reached out for Clary, wrapping an arm around her friend and tugging her into her side. "And there's nothing wrong with that." Clary didn't say anything for a long time, just leaning against Isabelle, the dark haired girl running her hand soothingly up and down her back.

"I don't see how we're going to work," Clary finally choked out.

"It'll be hard," Isabelle told her honestly. "And you're going to end up with your face in some magazines and on those stupid websites again." Just that knowledge alone made Clary's shoulders tense up. "But it'll be manageable. It's not as if you're going to be making movies and coming out as this famous artist. You'll be coming out as a girlfriend. And once they make a big thing out of it for a week or so, some bimbo with a drug addiction or a DUI will be brought to light and they'll move on." Isabelle rubbed her back before resting one of her hands on Clary's shoulders. "You'll need to make some adjustments, and you won't be quite as anonymous as you are now, but it won't be anywhere near as bad as it was for you before. You'll have a bit more control over it, and at least you'll be going in knowing what you're in for."

"Maybe," Clary didn't feel quite as panicked as she did before, her heart slowing down in her chest.

"I remember when Max died," Isabelle clicked her tongue at the memory of her younger brother and the car accident that had claimed his life. "And Jace and you were coming to the funeral. We were all so worried that the press were going to show up and make the whole thing into a carnival and ruin it." Clary squeezed her friends knee. "But they didn't catch wind of it. You guys only told your agents and your mum, and the directors so you could get some time off set," she licked her lips. "So it can be done. You just both need to want it," she gave Clary a knowing look out of the corner of her eye. "And I think you both do."

 _Ooh, have you guys seen the trailer for_ Venom _? Aaaaand next season of_ Jessica Jones _is out! So that's my binging this weekend. Haha._

 _Ick, and in depressing news, a lot of you will know how much I love_ SVU _, and I'm just a mess over Rafael Barba leaving :( I was so upset about Stabler leaving all those years ago, and then Nick Amaro because I've in love with Danny Pino since_ Cold Case _. Sigh, so I'm in grieving for that...And now I'm worried about Emily Prentiss from_ Criminal Minds _! Noooooo! But in happier news, the new show that I binged on—finally!—was_ Dynasty _. It's incredible and I looooove Fallon and Steven. I definitely recommend._

 _I'm also seeing_ Black Panther _for the second time this weekend. Shit. I just don't know who I love more. Lupita Nyong'o, who is also the background on my phone at the moment, Chadwick Boseman or Michael B Jordan...The movie itself is just so fucking gorgeous, the costumes and the location and setting, it's just incredible. And the soundtrack! Shit! It's all amazing!_

 _Songs that I'm loving right now are some older ones—_ Luka _by Suzanne Vega,_ Look _by Roxette and_ Hands _by Jewel. Ooh, and also_ Jolene _, which is my favourite Dolly Parton song, but I love Miley Cyrus' version of it as well :)_

 _Send recommendations my way, and let me know if you want a preview x_


	21. Chapter 21

_Next chapter, people!_

After Isabelle left, Clary finally turned her phone back on and cringed when she saw how many messages there were waiting for her. Most of them were from Jace, with a couple from Magnus and Isabelle. It seemed as though after the second day or so of not getting any response from Clary, Jace must have spoken to Magnus and Alec about it and they told him that it was something that happened sometimes, because the texts were less panicked after a certain point. She sent him an apology text and said that she would come by tomorrow to talk. The text back was almost immediate, saying absolutely, he was looking forward to seeing her.

Clary spent the rest of the day tidying up her house and then scrubbing the floor, where some paint had splattered. Painting in the dining room area was her favourite place, even though she had a studio, because there were double doors that let the sun stream into the room, and gave an amazing view of her back yard, letting in the fresh air. She always made sure to lay out a sheet on the ground, covering her wooden floors, when she set up her easel and other painting items, but after a couple of days of moving around, she had ended up with some splotches on her floor.

That night, Clary made sure she got a full nights sleep, probably the first time she got more that five hours of steady sleep in a row in a couple of days, and her body could use it. When she got up in the morning, she showered, had breakfast, and sat in front of her computer for a few hours, catching up on a couple of episodes of _How To Get Away With Murder_. After sufficently drooling over Jack Falahee's character, she sent off a text to Jace, letting him know that she was leaving her place, and would reach his in about half an hour.

She had been thinking about what she and Jace had spoken about, and then what her and Isabelle had spoken about, and the result that she had come to both made her stomach twist to the point where it felt as though she was going to throw up, and make her heart beat of her chest with excitement.

She wanted to be with Jace.

She wanted to _properly_ be with him.

And if that meant that a couple hundred thousand people were going to be aware of the relationship, then so be it. They could make it work. Isabelle was right, it would be hard, and it would take work, but they would be able to make it work.

Now she just needed to talk to Jace about it.

* * *

After Jace had left Clary's on Sunday evening, he had thought that he would hear from her in the morning. When he didn't hear anything, he tried ringing her, and was surprised when the phone went straight to voice mail. He left a message, telling her to give him a call when she was next free. Except then another day went past, and he still didn't hear from her, and that was when he started worrying.

They had talked, and he understood that Clary didn't regret leaving the fame behind. A lot of people felt that way, after being under so much public pressure for so long, they loved being free of it. Sometimes, Jace felt that way, and he didn't doubt that he would get to the point in his life where he would properly want to leave it all in his rear view mirror and settle down somewhere where he didn't need to worry about shadowing his face when he didn't want a photo to be taken. But he wasn't at the point yet, and so going forward with anything with Clary was going to be difficult.

They hadn't really talked any more about what they were going to be going forward, but he thought that they were at least in agreement that what they had done and what they were both feeling wasn't a mistake. And he thought that that meant they were going to talk after they had both slept on it.

But clearly not.

After another day went by without hearing from her, he considered driving out to her place to confront her. Alec had seen the look on his face, and when Jace had told him that he hadn't heard from Clary since getting home. Magnus, who could never stay out of any drama, had asked what exactly had happened when they had been together last. Jace hadn't been ready to get into any detail with them, not until he had spoken with Clary and understood whether or not they were on the same page, and just said that they had talked, and he thought that things had been left on a good note. They had explained that sometimes she ended up needing to take a beat, and that she turned off her phone and ignored everyone for a few days.

So he had stopped texting her so much, but that didn't mean that he had stopped panicking.

It seemed as though everything was okay, though, because Clary had text him last night and said that she would come over the next morning and they could talk. It didn't feel too scary, since she included a smiling emoji at the end and another one with the kissing face, so that made him feel better.

"You guys want to watch a movie?" Jace asked, looking over to where Isaac and Rhys were helping him with the morning dishes. Or, it was more he was washing the morning dishes, Isaac was doing a pretty good job at drying them, and Rhys was just running around, waving a tee-towel above his head.

" _Zootopia_?!" Rhys asked, coming to a standstill but still waving the tee-towel.

" _Zootopia_?" Jace raised an eyebrow.

"You've never seen _Zootopia_? It's one of our favourite movies!" Isaac looked horrified at the thought. "Aunty Clary always cries," he added with a grin.

"Always?" Jace asked with a smirk.

"Always," Rhys nodded solemnly.

"Well, we're gonna see that happen then," Jace grinned. "Because she's going to be coming over soon."

"Yay!" Rhys cheered, obviously bored with being still because he started running toward the lounge, tee-towel flying out behind him. Jace and Isaac finished up the rest of the dishes and then followed after Rhys, who had pulled out a couple of DVD's before finding the one that he had been looking for and holding it up to Jace to put in the player. Jace put the disc in the player and turned on the TV. Isaac and Rhys both curled up next to him on the couch, and for the hundredth time since he was there, he felt his heart well in his chest in a ridiculously warm way. They settled in, and he was just starting to wonder if the bunny was on drugs when there was a knock at the door. "Clary?" Rhys asked.

"I think so, buddy," Jace smiled. "You guys keep watching, I just need to go and talk to her or a little bit."

"Is there going to be kissing?" Isaac wrinkled his nose.

"Hopefully," Jace smirked as both boys made retching noises. Jace laughed as he got up and jogged out of the room, down the hallway to the front door. He didn't even bother looking through the glass panel beside the door to see who it was, expecting it only to be a petite red head on the other side of the door. "Hey, I was wondering—" Jace broke off, and the smile froze on his face when he saw who was standing on the other side of the door.

A curvy blonde.

Kaelie.

"Kaelie," Jace managed to say, hoping that his utter disappointment wasn't showing on his face.

"Hey!" Kaelie grinned, leaning forward and throwing her arms around his shoulders, her syrupy, artificial perfume surrounding him and almost making him choke. "Oh my god! It's been so long! I thought you were only coming up for a couple of weeks, and now it's been two months and I've barely heard from you!" She looked almost completely _fake_ standing in front of him, all perfect skin, layers of make up and glitzy dress, and Jace knew that she was still talking a mile a minute, but he was still catching up with the fact that she was standing right in front of her. "Baby?" Kaelie waved her hand in front of Jace and he blinked at her. "Baby, are you listening to me? Are you surprised?"

" _Definitely_ surprised," Jace stated.

"Good," Kaelie flashed a wide, toothy smile and then stepped past him, not caring that she hadn't been invited. "This place is nice," Kaelie slowed down as she saw a couple of toys on the ground. "Your cousins have children?" She asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Yup," Jace nodded.

"Lovely," the look of disgust was clear on Kaelie's face. "Well," she clapped her hand together as she turned back to face him, batting her fake eyelashes and pursing her collagen-plumped lips. "I was wondering when you're coming back."

"You flew all the way out here to ask me when I was coming back?" Jace quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm being a supportive girlfriend, out here to see how things are going with your family and their—" she cast another derisive look at the photos on the wall, all of them featuring Isaac and Rhys. "—Their children." Her nose crinkled before it smoothed out into a smile that she probably thought looked genuine. "Besides, I've got fans out here, and from what I've heard, you've mainly been avoiding the public. We could go out, do a couple of meet and greet's..." her voice faded out again as Jace was hit with what her being here, in this city, in this _house_ , meant.

"Uh, that's not really what I'm here for," Jace muttered.

"Of course, of course," Kaelie said off-handedly. "But going home, I really think that's something that we should do. No one has seen you in months, and they're starting to talk, thinking that we're not together, or you're off on some holiday with a mistress. My fans keeps asking about you, about your new movie, about your next project. There are flights all the time, I was looking—" her speech was broken by the sound of a car door closing, and Jace looked back through the open door to where Clary was walking toward the house, looking down at her phone, unaware of the blonde woman standing there.

"Clary," Jace began, and she looked up, a warm smile on her face, so completely different from any smile that Kaelie had ever given him. A dimple pressed into her cheek and her eyes were glowing, and he could make out the light freckles on her nose and the tiny scar under her eye from when she had chicken pox as a kid. All the imperfections that set her apart from Kaelie and made her so much more real. He felt his heart plummet when Kaelie moved forward, into Clary's line of sight, and Clary's eyes widened and her smile faltered.

It had been a long time, and it wasn't anywhere near as good as it used to be, but he could recognize her acting anywhere.

"You must be Kaelie," Clary's voice was formal, her face composed as she held out her hand toward Kaelie.

"Oh. My. God," Kaelie gasped, putting her hand to her chest, flashing the rings on all of her fingers. "Clarissa Morgenstern? I used to love you!" Clary's outwardly flinched at the name and Jace wanted to rush forward and protect her, but he had a feeling that would just make things worse.

"You can call me Clary," Clary gave a tight smile.

"Of course," Kaelie smiled back at her, reaching out a hand to shake Clary's. "I didn't realize that you were here—do you live around here?"

"Just visiting friends," Clary avoided the question smoothly, and Jace could tell that she was protecting herself, the guard in her eyes plainly there for anyone who knew the redhead to see. Jace could understand that, there was no telling who Kaelie would mention to that Clarissa Morgenstern was living in Seattle. "Actually, I was just here to see Magnus, but I can see his car isn't here, so I'll be going," she looked over Kaelie's shoulder to where Jace was standing, but she pointedly didn't meet his eyes, focusing just past him. "Tell the boys I'll see them later," she said, and with that, she was turning on her heel and walking briskly back to her car.

"You didn't tell me that Clarissa Morgenstern knew your cousins," Kaelie began, eyes wide and begging for more details, but Jace was already pushing past her.

"Family friend," he mumbled. "Clary!" He called out, and it looked as though Clary just started walking faster, before she finally reached her car and pulled open the door. The movement slowed her down slightly though, and Jace caught up with her. "Clary, I didn't know that she was coming here," Jace dropped his voice to a low volume. "She just showed up."

"No, no, it's—" Clary took in a deep, shaky breath. "I understand. You wouldn't do this on purpose." Jace thought that she would be angrier, and he had to take a moment to process that this was Clary he was speaking to. He wasn't dealing with a hyped up model or an over dramatic actress. Clary was level headed, and even though she was hurt, she wasn't lashing out at him.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"I know," Clary nodded, her lips in a thin line. "But I really think I should go."

"I can book a flight for this afternoon!" Kaelie called out, obviously not caring at all that they were talking. They both looked back at her, to where she was holding up her phone and smiling. Jace looked back at Clary, who's eyes were now wide, her lips parted.

"You're leaving? Now?" She gaped. "Were you going to tell me?"

"No, no—I'm not leaving _now_ ," Jace shook his head. "At least, that wasn't the plan. She just showed up, and—" Jace breathed out heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I mean, I would have to leave at some point."

"Yeah, I know that, I just sort of thought that we had time..." Clary sighed, tightening her fingers around the door of her car. She looked back over his shoulder and he saw her draw herself up, composing her face once again and squaring her shoulders. "What are you going to do? Are you going back with her?"

"I haven't decided any of this—she's only just shown up," Jace began.

"But you're thinking about it?" Clary's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "I thought..." her eyes clouded. "I thought that..." Jace waited, wanting her to finish, but she didn't look as though she knew what words she wanted to say. He looked back at Kaelie, in her designer dress and high heels, and her perfect acrylic nails and pouting mouth, and then at Clary, in a ripped pair of jeans, paint splattered over the palms of her hands, her hair curly and falling around her face, her green eyes bright and earnest.

They were literally complete opposites, representing the two completely opposite parts of his world.

And he didn't want Clary to have to change, he didn't want to pull her back into a life that she had worked so hard to leave behind.

"You told me..." Jace swallowed hard. "You told me that you love your life. That you don't regret leaving it behind—but that's my life, Clary," he wanted to reach out and cup her face, touching his thumb to her cheek, press his lips to her mouth. He could see her posture stiffening and the hurt showing in her eyes. "I can't walk away from it like you did. And if you don't want anything to do with it, then maybe we don't have anything more to talk about."

This was not going at all like he had planned.

And Clary's eyes, filling with tears, her nose twitch—that definitely wasn't something he wanted. It wasn't something he had ever wanted.

But seeing Kaelie, and seeing Clary...He never wanted her to feel as though she needed to conform, become that person that she used to be, maybe someone like Kaelie.

"Maybe you're right," she managed to say. "Maybe we've got nothing to discuss." She got into her car, and Jace took a shaky step backwards, forcing his trembling hands into his pockets to stop himself from reaching out for her to try and stop her. It looked as though she had some difficulty putting the key in the ignition, and Jace's whole body felt sick and aching, knowing how much he had hurt her. But then she turned the car on, and she was speeding away from him.

 _Sooooooo, in exciting news, I'm off to Ed Sheeran in just a few days! Whoop whoop! Don't even care if it rains like the forecast says it's going to, it's going to be amazing._

 _I've got quite a few song recommendations this time;_ All The Stars _by Kendrick Lamar and SZA,_ Pray For Me _by Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd and_ Love Lies _by Khalid and Normani. Older ones that I've been listening to a bit lately that I used to be completely in love with are_ The Devils Tears _by Angus and Julia Stone,_ Dare You To Move _by Switchfoot (those_ Walk To Remember _feels! Haha) and_ Breath _by Breaking Benjamin._

 _In TV show recommendations by big one is_ Everything Sucks! _on Netflix. It's amazing. Me and my hubby binged the whole thing in an afternoon. Haha. I just love all of the characters so much! The parents, the kids—I definitely have a thing for Scott Pocket, I thought he was fucking amazing. Hahahaha. I know there's a lot of controversy around Kate and Emaline because of the actual actresses, but I thought they were gorgeous._

 _Now, here's where I need some help from you guys! So, in two areas..._

 _First is with_ Pressing Play (Rewind and Repeat) _. I'm doing another round of songfics based on letters of the alphabet and I still have some letters left. K, O, P, Q, U, W, X and Z. So please send me some songs starting with those letters and I'll see if I can make a fic work around them!_

 _The second thing is something that I'll be asking for more help with later. There's a story I'm working on at the moment, called_ Changing Faces _, the summary for it is on my profile, and it's spanning ten years. The year that I'm planning at the moment is 2009. So, what I'm asking from all you beautiful people, is send me things you were into in 2009. Music, movies, TV shows, fashion trends. Things you were dealing with in 2009, things that you were going through. Also big things that happened; celebrity news, political news, national and international events. Anything! I will, of course, credit it you._

 _Leave a review, let me know what you think, of the chapter and my notes x_


	22. Chapter 22

_Hey guys! Happy April to everyone! Got the new chapter, and also just a heads up, that there's only about four chapters left of this story! I also wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all the guest reviewers! You guys are amazing, and I wish that you guys had accounts so that I could actually message you guys directly! Thanks for taking some time to leave a comment x_

Jace left on a plane the next morning.

Kaelie stayed in the house with Magnus and Alec for one night, and it made Jace completely regret his decision to stay one more night and not leave in the afternoon like Kaelie had originally wanted. Everything had been tense; Kaelie had pushed her food around her plate, turned her nose up at Rhys when he had offered her a slightly sticky book, cringed when the boys got overexcited and started talking loudly and then complained endlessly about the bed they were sharing once the door closed.

Charlotte ordered a limo for them, which picked them up from the airport once they landed, and that was when Jace did it.

He thought it would be straight forward, they were never going to be each others forever. Jace was the popularity that Kaelie needed the promote herself and Kaelie provided Jace with the image that he wasn't just a playboy, but could also hold a relationship. Kaelie didn't seem to see it that way however, at first pouting as though she could 'cute' him out of his decision, then her eyes starting watering, and then she flipped to angry. The way the girl bounced through emotions was ridiculous, and definitely spoke to how much she used them to get her own way. Well, her emotions and those tits that she had spent several thousand dollars on.

Once Jace had convinced Kaelie that it was most _definitely_ over, that he was certain of his decision, she had demanded that the limo pull over and then kicked _him_ out. Semantics, such as the fact that it was Charlotte who had ordered the limo, therefore it was Jace who was paying for it, and it was not Kaelie's limo, didn't matter to her. Jace's bags were all in the back, and Peter raised his eyebrow as Kaelie demanded that he get out. Jace had just nodded at Peter, knowing that he would get Kaelie back home safe and then drive back to his apartment. He would rather not be in an enclosed space with her and the talons her fingernails were shaped into if he had a choice. It was a good thing that he had his baseball cap handy from when they had come through airport security, because it was going to be quite a walk back to his apartment.

As much as he had enjoyed his time away, that buzz that New York carried; the constant movement, the energy that everyone had—he had missed that.

It took him almost half an hour before getting back to his apartment, and by the time he got there, Peter had already been and gone, dropping all of his things off, and they had been taken up to his room. He called Charlotte, told her that he had broken up with Kaelie and asked her to figure out what they should do with the fall out, and had then collapsed on his bed and gone to sleep.

* * *

"Okay, Mr Wayland? Can you please look at me?" Jace sighed and tried to find which of the three people who were buzzing around in front of him was the one who wanted his attention. It was a joke, really, because they were all talking to him. Someone leaned forward and dabbed a powder brush on his nose.

"This way, Mr Wayland." This time it was someone else talking, and Jace tipped his head in another direction as someone adjusted his collar, hooking a little microphone in and doing a quick test on it. "Okay, try not to bump that."

"Yeah, that's fine," Jace was trying to remain cordial, even though this was his third interview in two days, and he had done hundreds before that, so he was very used to how he needed to speak as though the microphone wasn't there and to be careful not to jostle it. Usually he had no problem with interviews, but Charlotte had seemed to sense that he needed to keep himself busy, and so he had barely had time to breathe since he had gotten back.

He was still trying to figure out if that was a good thing.

This interview carried on like most of the other ones. They spoke about his upcoming movie, his relationship with the director and some of the other actors in the film. Then they spoke about his next projects, the big one being _Heavenly Fire_ , which had an actress in it that he had worked with before, Camille Belcourt. And then the conversation turned toward his personal life. He was used to that. His personal life wasn't particularly 'personal', and that was something he had come to accept over the years.

"Now, Jace," Jessamine Lovelace smiled at him, shifting in her seat. "We've recently come to understand that you and reality TV star, Kaelie Whitewillow, have just parted ways." Jace nodded the affirmative, although his smile felt a little more plastic on his face, knowing what was coming next. "What was the reason behind that? From what we understood, everything was going well between you." Behind them, photos flashed up on the screen of Jace and Kaelie together, some of them when they were posing for fans, others at movie premiers, others selfies that Kaelie had taken. "Although, just like every relationship, we understand that there was some trouble," Jessamine's eyebrows quirked upwards as more pictures flashed up, headlines of cheating rumors and public arguments.

"Keep your cool," Charlotte reminded Jace quietly in his ear piece.

The cheating rumors and the public arguments...They just spoke more to how crooked peoples perceptions were. Kaelie didn't mind the drama, she thrived on it. Jace just had to be seen out in public with another woman and the paparazzi went crazy with cheating rumors. All they needed to do was exchange a couple of heated words, and suddenly it was a public argument.

Yet another reason why Clary was too good for this part of his life, and shouldn't have anything to do with it.

"Mr Wayland?" Jessamine raised an eyebrow at him and Jace blinked, realizing that he had zoned out of the conversation for a couple seconds longer than necessary. "Do you have any comment?"

"Uh," Jace cleared his throat and flashed the interviewer another smile, hoping that it came off as genuine, or at least, polite.

"Deep breath, Jace," Charlotte murmured again in his ear, and he was thankful that he had her standing there behind the curtain, watching the show on a TV backstage.

"It was a mutual thing," Jace began, keeping his voice even, and sticking with the same story he had told every other interviewer who had asked him about Kaelie. It had been three weeks, and he hadn't heard anything from Kaelie and Charlotte hadn't told him anything she had heard if Kaelie had been saying something contradictory, and so Jace and Charlotte had continued with what they had originally agreed on. "We have completely different lives and it was just time for us to go our separate ways."

"So it has nothing to do with her reported affair with fellow actor, Meliorn Hassouné?" Jessamine looked over her shoulder at the big screen, and this time there were a few new photos, with Kaelie and Meliorn holding hands and looking cozy. The screen changed, and the new photo had the two of them kissing, Kaelie looking as though she was trying to eat Meliorn's face whole. Jace raised an eyebrow, feeling a little bit sorry about the new man that Kaelie seemed to have under her thumb.

"Little skank," Charlotte grumbled into the ear piece and Jace was careful not to snort in response.

"I wish her all the best in her new relationship and her future endeavors," Jace said diplomatically before he purposefully turned around to face their live audience in a move that not-so-subtly announced that he was ready to end the interview. "I want to thank you all so much for your support!" Jessamine quite caught up with the programme and began her closing spiel. Jace accepted the hug that she pulled him into, and then very thankfully walked quickly off stage when he managed to untangle himself.

"You did well," Charlotte said as he reached her backstage. "I'm sorry, I've never seen those photo's before."

"Doesn't matter," Jace shook his head. "Do I have anything else today?"

"Well, you agreed for dinner with Raphael," Charlotte gave him a look out of the corner of her eye as a couple of workers came over and started taking the mic off his shirt, unbuttoning the first couple of buttons to take off the wire. "If you don't want to, I can cancel it. You haven't had much of a break since you got back, maybe a night off would be good."

"No, no," Jace disagreed. "It'll be good to see him. Besides, we're going to be doing a couple of interviews together next week, so we need to catch up." Raphael Santiago was one of his co-stars in _Rogue City_ , and they had become close.

"Are you sure?" Charlotte checked, looking dubious.

"Yeah, I am," Jace muttered as he was handed his jacket and he pulled it on, running his fingers through his hair, glad that he could shake it out from the careful way it had been gelled and styled. Charlotte looked worried but she didn't say anything as they finished up in the building and then headed out through the winding hallways to where Peter was waiting in his town car. When they got in, Charlotte was quiet as Jace asked Peter to take him back to his apartment so that he could change before going out to dinner, and it wasn't until they were on the highway that Charlotte reached over and put her hand on Jace's knee.

"Sweetie," Charlotte said softly. "I know about Clary." Jace's body stiffened as he looked at his agent and godmother. "I called Alec, I wanted to know what happened." Jace shifted in his seat and pursed his lips. "I don't know exactly what happened between the two of you, but he told me that you had been spending a lot of time together. Is she the reason that you broke up with Kaelie?"

"Part of it," Jace nodded, knowing he couldn't lie to Charlotte. "But whatever we had, it's over. She made a clean break, and she's happy with her life. I don't want to drag her back into this just for me."

"Have you considered that maybe she would want to? Maybe she would do it for you?" Charlotte asked, her voice still quiet, and squeezing his knee comfortingly. "I remember the two of you together, we all thought that what you had was special. If you two are back together—"

"We're not," Jace cut Charlotte off. "We're not together, and I don't want to talk about it." Charlotte raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything further on the matter, starting to talk about the press tour that was starting next week to promote _Rogue City_. Jace listened at first, but then his mind drifted off to where it had been going to constantly.

The ache in his chest that he had felt before he had gone to Seattle had been bearable. He could ignore it most of the time, cover it up with going out with his friends, or throwing himself into his latest movie, or rolling around in bed with Kaelie. But now that he knew what he was missing, that he knew the reason that his heart ached and why he felt as though he was walking around without a limb—that pain was so much worse.

Jace swallowed hard, and tried to refocus on what Charlotte was saying.

 _Songs that I've been listening to on repeat recently are_ Talk To Ya _by HRVY,_ Do I Wanna Know? _by Arctic Monkeys and_ Find Me _by Sigma and Birdy. Admittedly I only watched the music video for_ Find Me _to see our queen Millie Bobby Brown in it, but then I fell in love with the song. Also a huuuuge thank you to_ lima17 _for recommending_ Heaven _by Julie Michaels because I fucking love it! And also_ Raincoat _by Timeflies which was recommended by_ michellelu78 _. I wasn't into it the first two times I listened to it, but shit, I've lost track of how many times I've listened to it now._

 _I've recommended_ Designated Survivor _before, but I'll do it again! It's an amazing show! Season two is just as good as the first season, I absolutely love all of the main characters, Boone has quickly become one of my favourites—I'm head over heels for him, I just think he's amazing. So go and check that out! Another TV series that I've recently become addicted to is_ Queen of the South. _How have I not watched this before? It's incredible. James is fucking gorgeous as hell and Teresa is just so kickass. I love her. And Camila is a fucking queen._

 _Some of you guys asked how Ed Sheeran was—it was amaaaaazing. Even better than the first time I went to see him. His opening act was incredible, they're called The Drax Project. I definitely recommend you guys checking them out on Youtube. The lead guy has an absolutely insane voice and he plays the sax. If you're just going to check out one song by them, it has to be their cover of_ Pony _. There's a HQ version of them doing it live on Youtube, please look it up!_

 _The letters left for the second round of_ Pressing Play _are D, L, Q, V, Y and Z, so send your song ideas through to me, and I can look and see if I can make them work!_

 _Also—have we all taken a moment to appreciate the Demi Lovato and Kehlani videos/gifs from the concert and their little moment? Ahahahaha._

 _Leave a review! Let me know what you think, what you liked, what you didn't, give me your recommendations for songs and movies! And let me know if you want a preview of the next chapter xx_


	23. Chapter 23

_Only a few chapters left!_

Almost four months passed since Jace got back to New York. Originally, the press tour for _Rogue City_ wasn't meant to start until just before the movie came out, but given the hype that was rising around the film, already been labelled the summer blockbuster, the press team pushed for them to start promoting earlier. Usually, Jace would be completely against that, wanting to take a breath between finishing filming, going on a press tour, and then starting on his next film, but the press tour provided him with the distraction he needed. Charlotte was still worried that he was pushing himself to hard, and even Jordan and Bat had expressed their concern, but he was brushing it off.

He was barely ever at his apartment, and when he was there, it was just to sleep and shower. He worked out at least once a day, sometimes twice, going out for long runs when his personal trainer wasn't avaliable. He did extra meet and greets with a couple of his other co-stars, and took up interviews with some teeny-bopper magazines that he usually avoided. Charlotte took him to a couple of interviews with a few directors that were scouting him for upcoming films, and one of them was based on a book. So he read the book in two days, and then flew halfway across the country to speak with the author, who would be consulting in the film, to find out what kind of vision she had.

None of these were things that he _needed_ to do, he was only doing them to fill his days, because going home wasn't something he wanted to do.

It was two weeks until the premiere, and he was in Los Angeles where the rest of the cast was as well, all gathered together in the one city to do all the press and interviews leading up to the premiere. Jordan and Bat had flown out to keep him company. Bat was visiting a new girlfriend of his and Jordan and his band had a couple of gigs lined up over the city.

"Okay," Bat announced. "We need to take you out." Jace looked around witha raised eyebrow.

"We _are_ out," Jace pointed out.

"No, I mean _out_ -out! Like out to get drunk and shit!" Bat retorted. "You broke up with your girlfriend of like, well, I don't know. It seemed like forever. And so we need to celebrate!"

"You want to celebrate my break up?" Jace let out a short laugh, but he knew what Bat meant.

"Something like that. Because, don't get me wrong, but," Bat winced. "I mean she was hot as hell, but she was a whiny bitch, you know?" He looked as though he was waiting for Jace to contradict him, but when Jace just shrugged one shoulder, he continued. "And it was like she was only with you for the popularity and attention it brought you. Did you..." he paused and exchanged a look with Jordan, and it made Jace wonder if they had talked about this before. "Did you even like her?" Jace's eyes flickered from side to side, surprised at the question.

It wasn't as though they really ever talked about this sort of thing.

Jace knew that the front that he and Kaelie put on was believed by the general population, because the photos and the well timed compliment apparently spoke volumes, and he thought that Jordan and Bat would at least know that he wasn't into someone as shallow and vapid as she was.

Clearly not.

"It's just..." Jordan seemed to pick up the slack. "It's just when you get drunk there's only one chick that you talk about, and that was the girl you were dating when you were on that TV show."

"Clary," Bat murmured.

"She's the one you go on about," Jordan pursed his lips, looking awkward. "Not Kaelie." Jace swallowed hard and looked between his two friends. Then he let out a short breath and clapped his hands together.

"Right! So, about going out?" He brought the conversation back around full circle to what they were talking about before his love life became the central topic. Jordan and Bat looked relieved at that, because talking about their feelings was definitely not their forte. It didn't take Bat long to call up his girlfriend and find out where the best clubs in town were, and then they called an uber, and were on their way.

* * *

Bat's girlfriend, Eve Delta, met them at a club in the middle of the town with a couple of her girlfriends. One of them was a girl named Maia Roberts, and her and Jordan seemed to hit it off straight away. It didn't take long before people recognized Jace and his group, and that was then they moved onto another club, a more exclusive club, where there was more security and a more elite crowd.

Jace lost count of how many drinks he threw back.

It had been a while since he had gotten drunk, and even when he was drinking with his friends, he tried not to get too wasted. He hadn't really cared up until a year and a half ago when he realized just how badly he acted when he was drunk, lashing out at paparazzi and security, and sometimes doing something stupid like getting behind the wheel of his car. Charlotte had gotten angry of cleaning up his messes, given she always had to call Emma Carstairs who helped with his public image, and those two didn't get on well. That was about the time she suggested he needed to look for a girlfriend, someone to help level out his image, and that he needed to stop acting like an 'immature little asshole'.

He loved Charlotte, and she let him get away with a lot, so when she honed in on a problem, he listened to her.

But not tonight.

Jace was most definitely drinking tonight.

Bat and Eve, and Jordan and Maia were all dancing, wrapped around each other for half the time, and jumping up in the air, pumping their fists the other half. The rest of Eve's friends had tried to hit on him, along with asking for selfies and autographs, but Jace barely said a word to them, choosing to keep flagging down the waitress and order drinks.

He didn't even realize that he spoke about Clary when he was drunk.

Bat and Jordan had never mentioned it before, so he was guessing it wasn't very often, especially when there drunken conversations were generally about where they were going to order food, and what sports game did they want to go to in their next weekend off. It was never anything serious.

It made sense though.

Of _course_ it made sense.

He fucking loved Clary.

After seeing her again, after all these years, that love he had felt for her before had smacked him right back in the chest, and the way he felt about her had been completely clear.

It had never gone away, and he doubted it ever would.

As the night went on, and he drank more and more, Jordan and Bat came over to him, looking worried. He vaguely heard them talking about getting him back to his hotel, and he was pretty sure he heard Jordan calling Charlotte, asking for her to send a driver because they didn't want to risk calling a taxi and having someone taking photos of him going out the front door like this. And then the two boys were bundling him out into a car, taking the rear entrance of the club rather than the front one.

Clary.

He had been given a second chance with her, and instead he had thrown it away.

He had been telling himself that he had done it for her, because he didn't want her to need to conform to fit in. But the truth was, if they had talked about it, if they both tried, then she wouldn't have had to twist herself into a pretzel to be someone she wasn't anymore. They could have made it work. She would need to make sacrifices, and somewhere along the way, he would need to as well. Maybe not do as many movies so that he actually had time to spend with her, or not making split second decisions to fly off to another country just because he felt like it.

But they could have made _it work_.

He was just too scared.

Too scared of a good thing.

Of finally filling that void in his chest.

That maybe he would get in to deep, and then she would take off again, and he was going to need to recover from loosing her all over again, which was going to be hell.

And then that idea alone started a feeling of resentment toward her in his stomach which he hated himself for because he completely understood her reasons.

It was after three in the morning by the time Jace was laying on the bed in the his hotel room, the double doors wide open so that there was a breeze, which he would be thankful for when he woke up with a hangover. He picked up his phone and stared at the background photo, which was one that he had taken of Clary when she was asleep on the couch with Rhys cuddled up next to her.

He had stopped himself from calling her a hundred times, but that was when he was totally sober.

There wasn't anything stopping him now.

It went straight to voice mail.

"Hi, you've reached Clary. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you," her voice was light and happy sounding and Jace almost lost it just at that. He opened and shut his mouth a couple of times, making weird noises, before he finally started talking.

"Clary...I miss you..." he swallowed hard. "I never—I didn't want to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you. When I—" he broke off to sniff. "When I said that it wasn't going to work it was because I was scared that I might loose you again. And I can't...I can't loose you again, Clary. We had something really good before, and then when I came to stay...Shit, Clary," his throat felt tight and his nose itched. He wiggled his nose and rubbed his hand over his face. "I'm so in love with you. I've always been in love with you. And I should never have said that we've got nothing to talk about because there are so many things I want to talk about with you! I want you to be there to talk to all the time, and I always want to tell you that I love you, and when I'm having a bad day, I just want—" he was rambling at this point but he didn't care. "I want to be with you, Clary, I want—" the phone beeped, indicating that he was being cut off. Jace sighed, dropping his phone on the bed beside him and rolling over, falling asleep almost instantly.

 _Okay._

 _So._

 _I went to a Halsey concert last night._

 _Holy FUCK._

 _She was incredible._

 _She was_ fucking amazing _._

 _I still can't even put it all into words._

 _My favourite artist is Eminem, and I've seen him live, and my second favourite is Halsey, and I've seen her live, and they both just killed it._

 _She put on an incredible performance and her vocals were insane and just..._ Oh my god _! Haha._

 _Khelani opened for her and she was amazing as well._

 _OMG._

 _So I'm just going to leave this here and continue watching videos of her for the rest of the day._

 _Peace out, beautiful people x_


	24. Chapter 24

_An update! About a week earlier than I planned, but I'm going away this weekend and then quite busy next week, so I thought I would update now! Also, part of the reason I'm busy next week is because it's my birthday! So here's an early birthday present from me to you xx_

"You're looking good, hun," Charlotte gave Jace a warm smile as she looked him over.

"I better look good after a herd of people spent the last five hours making me look this way," Jace joked with a smile. Charlotte grinned and ran her hands over the shoulders of his jacket, brushing off lint that was definitely _not_ there, given how careful all the stylists had been. Jace turned around and looked in the mirror, all three of them, which were set up in front of him so that he could see himself from all angles. The suit was sharp, tailored to him specifically, and he knew that it probably set him back a couple of thousand dollars, but it wasn't as though he noticed the money going from his account.

"So you're getting a ride there with Mr Santiago, and then you're catching a ride from there Peter to bring you straight back to your apartment building," Charlotte pursed her lips together as she looked down at the iPad, at the schedule planner that she had. "Are you sure that you want to go home after the premiere? There's still the after party and you usually enjoy those things, you haven't really had any downtime these past few weeks and—"

"Char, I've barely been home since being in the city," Jace replied evenly. "And for once I kind of just want to be there." It was unusual for the main star of a movie not to go to the after party, but for all the months that he had spent avoiding going back to his apartment, that was where he wanted to be that night.

"Well," Charlotte sniffed and then shrugged. "If that's what you would like. With all the extra work you've been putting into the press tour, practically doubling the meet and greet's that you usually do, they definitely owe you a break. I'll talk to the director before you go into the premiere, and don't worry, he won't give you any hassle about going to the party." There was a gleam in her eye and Jace dropped his eyes to his shoes, which were freshly polished, and grinned. When Charlotte was certain about something, there really wasn't any getting in her way, and especially when it came to Jace.

"Thanks, Char," he muttered, looking over at the older woman. "You're always looking out for me." Surprised showed on Charlotte's face before mouth softened into a smile, leaning forward and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

"You need to stop working yourself so hard, sweetheart," Charlotte murmured, carefully swiping her thumb over his cheek to get rid of the sticky lipstick mark that she had left. "I'm not sure if I'm happy you're going home to get some rest, or worried if you're going to throw yourself into that silly gym regime you've been following lately." Jace shook his head.

"I promise I just want to get home," he said. "Be in my own place." Charlotte's phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her pocket, straightening her shoulders and nodding her head, her professional face once again settling.

"Alright, your ride is downstairs," she told him, and Jace got out his own phone from the inside pocket of his jacket, seeing that he had two texts from Raphael, one of them saying that they were on their way from his hotel building, and the second one saying that they were just outside. He had turned his phone off vibrate while the stylists and the hair and make up people were doing their job, so he hadn't realized the messages had been waiting. He quickly sent one back to Raphael, letting him know that he was coming out, and then took the elevator down from the second floor of the building where he had been getting ready.

Raphael was looking good in his own suit, a black suit with a blood red shirt that had the first couple of buttons undone, and he wasn't wearing a tie. Raphael was known for not getting as cleaned up as everyone else did when it came to events like these, but he was gorgeous, and his boyish smile made up for it.

"You took your time," Raphael noted as Jace got in. "We're going to be late."

"Yeah, I'm sure that they'll start the movie without us," Jace rolled his eyes and shot a grin at his co-star as the driver pulled away from the curb.

"Hey—I heard that you weren't coming to the after party," Raphael frowned. "Why's that?"

"Uh," Jace gave a one shouldered shrug, not wanting to get into that all over again. "Just not feeling it." Raphael lifted an eyebrow, seeming to pick up on the fact that Jace didn't want to talk about it, and then started talking about some girl that he had just started seeing. The limo pulled up outside the theater and Jace took in a deep breath as he looked out the window as he saw the crowds and the paparazzi.

"You ready for this shit, man?" Raphael reached over to slap his hand down on Jace's shoulder before the driver opened the door, and the cameras all started flashing. Jace needed to give Raphael a few minutes to walk down the red carpet, to give him time to answer some questions, get photographed alone and take some selfies with audience. After enough time, Jace took in another long breath through his nose and stepped out of the crowd, fully hit with the loud noise from the crowds.

"Jace! Jace! Over here!" It was a high pitched voice, perhaps a young girl, who was in the crowd that was being held back by a flimsy velvet rope and more effectively by a security team.

"Ja-ace!" Another squeal and he looked in the direction of those particular voices, earning more squeals, and he saw a couple of teenage girls jumping and waving their arms at him. He couldn't help his grin as he lifted a hand at waved at them, seeing their eyes widen as the grabbed one anothers hands and started to jump up and down.

"Mr Wayland!" There was a reporter from TMZ, a woman he recognized with a friendly smile and Jace smiled pausing next to her. There were hundreds of flashes going off around him, but he focused completely on the reporter for a couple of minutes, answering her questions. He moved on after a few minutes, smiling and posing for the reporters as he made his way down the red carpet. He joined with the rest of the main cast from the film, Raphael throwing an arm around his shoulder and jostling him with his hip.

"Now, I wouldn't mind getting in on that action," Raphael murmured in Jace's ear as they looked down the red carpet to where several other celebrities were now walking down, smiling at waving at the audience as well as the press. Jace noted that it was Camille Belcourt and Raphael grinned as she sashayed by them, smiling coyly over her shoulder. "You've worked with her before, right? Introduce us?"

"I thought that you had just met a girl," Jace asked with a snort.

"Well, yeah," Raphael made a face and laughed. "But she's _Camille Belcourt_. She's pretty fucking hot." Jace laughed and shook his head, nodding when the director of _Rogue City_ came over to take a couple of photos with him. Alongside the the flashes that were going off in his face, and the shouts from reporters and their fans, there was this constant hum of energy that made Jace's skin buzz. It was always like this before going into a premiere, and even when he came to these events feeling drained and tired, before he walked into the cinema, he always felt as though he had more energy. It was like an adrenaline rush.

"Can we get another full cast photo?" Came a call from another reporter from a big magazine that Jace couldn't quite remember the name of. Just because it was one of the most popular trashy magazines around, didn't mean he read it, because half the information that they published was still incorrect.

"Everyone get in here," the director called out with a grin, waving his hand at his cast. They all posed for a couple of photos, Jace with his arm around Raphael, and another one around the director. They took a couple of serious photos, and then a few goofy ones, Raphael leaning in and kissing Jace on the cheek, Jace making a stupid face in response.

"Yo, Jace! Looking good!" Jace turned at the familiar voice, and saw Eric Hillchurch coming down the red carpet with his arm around his girlfriend. Eric and Jace had been in a couple of movies together when they were younger, and Eric had even be an extra in _City of Glass_ for a couple of episodes. Jace waved down at him, before turning back to the cameras, letting them take a few more photos before he walked down to Eric. There wasn't really a method for them getting down the carpet and into the movie theater, as long as they waved and smiled, answered a couple of questions for interviewers and engaged the crowd a bit, they were doing their job right.

"I didn't know you were coming," Jace said as he gave Eric a one armed hug.

"Yeah, man, managed to get in," he grinned. "Hey, I think you're wanted over there," Eric nodded over Jace's shoulder and he turned around to see a couple of fans who were practically hanging over the rope, jumping up and down behind the security guard who looked as though they were telling them to step back.

"Hey, guys," Jace smiled widely as he walked over to them, and saw their eyes go wide and their cheeks go red. "Do you want a picture?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Two of them gasped and Jace turned around, bending his knees a little so that he was at their level. He smiled at a couple of the phones that were put in front of him, and then turned around to kiss a few of them in the cheeks, hearing titters of excitement from the group. Jace moved onto the next group, taking a few photos with them as well, when he noticed that the attention on the red carpet was beginning to shift, murmurs floating between a couple of the actors and actresses. Eric, who was just standing a couple of meters away from him, looked down the red carpet to where limo's were arriving. Jace caught a flash of purple as he tried to see what the commotion about.

"Is that Clarissa Morgenstern?" Came a whisper and Jace's whole body jerked, side stepping around a couple of reporters who were all turning toward the beginning of the red carpet. He ducked around a few more people, trying to see what was drawing people's attention. Eric was looking the same way as well, and when Jace moved to stand next to him, Eric gave him a wide eyed look.

"Did you know she was coming?" Eric asked.

"Who—is it—" he broke off again, still trying to get a glimpse of the one attracting attention. "Is it her?"

"So that's a no to you knowing," Eric murmured and Jace blinked when he finally caught a glimpse of the woman.

She looked perfect.

Achingly, incredibly perfect.

Her hair was in an updo, in some sort of elegant curls in tight against her head and neck. Her make up was minimal, except for dark lipstick that contrasted well with her skin colour. The dress she was wearing was strapless, showing off her slim, flawless shoulders. The top of the dress was a dark colour, hugging her chest, and then faded into purple and the flowing skirt of the dress was a light lilac colour. She was smiling slightly, nodding at the cameras, not saying a word as questions were thrown at her left and right. Her eyes lifted, seeking, and then settling when she found Jace.

Then her smile spread, and Jace's heart soared in his chest.

 _Songwise; I've become completely addicted to Julia Michaels and Camila Cabello. Recent favourites of Julia Michaels are_ Uh-Huh _and_ Worst In Me _, and for Camila Cabello,_ All These Years, Consequences _and_ Somethings Gotta Give _. Especially_ All These Years _! Also there's_ Homeostasis _by Nostalghia, which is an older one. Ooh, and_ White Flag _by Bishop Briggs, which is absolutely amazing, and was sent through by_ Jling _._

 _I'm also still coming down from my Halsey concert high ;) So anything by her is recommended!_

 _So a couple of movies that I've seen over the past month are_ Ready Player One, Love, Simon, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Red Sparrow _and_ Avengers: Infinity War _._ Pacific Rim _was the typical monster versus robot shit, but no one said it was going to be a masterpiece! Haha. It was good for what it was, a depressing lack of Charlie Hunnam though._ Ready Player One _was a lot better than I though it would be, although my hubby and his friends enjoyed it a lot more than I did, given they got a lot more of the references._ Love, Simon _was beautiful and I recommend to all._ Red Sparrow _was okay, a bit long, and because I'm not the biggest fan of Jennifer Lawrence, that was already a bit of a turn off for me._

 _Now._

Avengers: Infinity War.

 _Holy shit._

 _Amazing._

 _Bucky saying 'Steve'? Okoye's side eye! M'Bakku being strong and beautiful! Steve's introduction to Groot? LOKI?! Spidey and Iron Man's last scene? Shuri's little moment? Wanda and Vision! Steve's BEARD?! Daddy AF. Pretty much everything Drax related. Thor's entry into earth?! Bucky and Rocket's interaction?! Probably a hundred thousand more things that I just don't have time to mention! I've already fangirled hard with_ Allieanna _, we're both pretty heartbroken. If you want to fangirl with me, send me a message, I am_ completely _down for that._

 _Let me know what songs you're listening to, if you've seen any of these movies, what you liked about the chapter or what you didn't like and what you think is going to happen next—leave a review, they keep me going :) Let me know if you want a preview as well xx_


	25. Chapter 25

_This is the final chapter! Far out, it always feels weird when I finish another story. Haha. I wanted to thank all of you guys so much for your support, and I'm so glad that you all stick around with me! To all of you guests that leave me incredible reviews and that I really,_ really _want to message and thank personally, THANK YOU! On with the final chapter..._

Jace had to sit in one of the front rows of the premiere, alongside the cast, director and producers. There were several other big name actors and directors and big backers behind the movie who were in the next couple of rows, and Jace had craned his neck to see that Clary had been placed in a seat about six rows back. He vaguely recognized the person who was on her left, who was talking away to her a mile a minute, but he had no idea of the person on her right, who didn't look as though he knew who she was. He desperately wanted to go back and sit with her, or better yet—grab her hand and drag her out of the cinema, away from the cameras and the attention and hide away so that they could talk.

He tried to focus on the movie, but all he could do was fidget in his seat and look back over his shoulder every couple of minutes. Every now and then, Clary would catch his eye, and she would give him a small, nervous looking smile, and Jace would feel his stomach twist again, to the point where it felt like he was going to throw up all over the expensive stage in front of him. The cast, director and producers all needed to get on stage, answer a couple of questions once the movie finished playing. They were greeted by a round of applause, and usually Jace would be glad that the film had made an impression—he would also usually be going back over the final product, since this was the first time he had actually seen it all together, but that was the last thing on his mind right now.

Somehow, he got through it all.

There was the short Q&A forum that they held afterwards, a couple more photos, shaking hands with more people, and then he finally wound his way back to Clary, grabbed her wrist and jerked her through the crowd. He knew that people were looking, he knew that there were whispers following after them and he had never been more grateful that the press weren't allowed in here with their cameras, or else these photos would be plastered over the internet within the hour. Jace knew this building well, and he had used the back exit a couple of times, and that was where he was dragging Clary now. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit one of the numbers on his speed dial.

"Peter? Hey. Can you come around to the lower ground exit?...Yup, great, thanks," Jace ended the call and pushed open a door to take them down to the underground parking lot that was barely ever used.

"Isn't this your big movie of the year? Don't you want to do your big walk down the carpet?" Clary spoke to him for the first time, her voice a little breathless as they hurried forward.

"It's the arriving that's the big thing," Jace shrugged. "Besides, I have something much more important to do right now." They got to the parking lot, and Peter was already waiting there in the town car. His eyebrows went up as he saw Clary—he had never met her before, Jace didn't think—but he had worked for Jace for nearly four years, so he must have looked him up and know his history with this woman who had been hidden from the public for ten years. Peter didn't say anything as he opened the door for them, giving them polite nods as they slid into the car. He shut the door behind them and got into the front seat and drove out of the garage. "So..." Jace began, finally letting himself look properly at Clary.

 _God_ , she was beautiful.

"So..." Clary let out a nervous laugh as she rubbed her hands up and down her thighs.

"Uh," Jace's hand went to the back of his neck, scratching absentmindedly. "That dress is incredible."

"Thanks," Clary gave him a smile before dropping her eyes. She brought her hands together, fiddling with her fingers, which were perfectly shaped and manicured. Jace looked out the window and noted that they were still about twenty minutes away from his apartment, especially in this traffic. He took in a deep breath and twisted in his seat, propping his knee up on the leather so that he could face her.

"What are you doing here, Clary?" He asked. Clary took in a deep breath, still fussing with her fingers, pulling at the corners of her nails and tapping them against the palm of her hand.

"I got your voice mail, the other week," she finally said. Jace vaguely remembered the voice mail. It was one of the first things that he had remembered the next morning when he had woken up with a throbbing head and a horrible taste in his mouth, and had scrambled for his phone, looking through his call history. But he didn't remember exactly what he had said, and he had _really_ hoped that it hadn't been anything _too_ bad. "You said that you loved me, and that you didn't want to lose me. And that you were scared." Jace winced, assuming that she was just summing up what he said, and he probably wasn't very lucid and to the point.

But it sounds like he had told the truth.

"Did you—" Clary took in a deep breath. "Did you mean that?"

"Yes," Jace nodded, reaching out for one of her hands and grasping it firmly. "Fuck, Clary— _fuck_ , I love you so much. You've got no idea how much I lo—"

"Then why did you go?" Clary cut him off, and he noticed that her eyes were glassy with tears. "Why did you say we had nothing to talk about—pretty much that it was over because I didn't want anything to do with all of this?" Jace was trying to find the right words to explain to her exactly why he had completely screwed it up with her. He had had months now to try and figure it out, and he had rehearsed the words in his head, but sitting here now, with her right in front of him, he really wasn't sure.

"Because I'm a fucking idiot," Jace stated with a helpless shrug. The corner of Clary's dark painted lips twitched upward, and he saw fondness in her eyes. "I just—I saw you, and then I saw Kaelie, and _fuck_ ," he let out a hiss. "I never want you to feel as though that's who you need to be. Everything about us got posted online, we could barely ever go out in public without someone following us around. There were always questions; going from what clubs she recommended to whether or not we were getting married. They just wanted to be all up in our shit. I mean—she loved that shit. She loved the limelight, and that's the sort of things that the pap's and the fans love, always wanting photos and any sort of information they can get and print."

"I know what it's like," Clary said gently. "I already lived that, remember?"

"And you _escaped_ it. You got out," Jace reminded her. "And you don't want anything to do with it. I love what I do, and so I just accept all this extra shit. But you don't have to. I _never_ want you to be forced to be someone that you're not, someone like Kaelie. And I don't want you to have to deal with having every part of your personal life on display." That familiar gnawing feeling in his stomach was back. "And that's why—why I'm worried it's not going to work for us." Clary's pearly white teeth nibbled on her lower lip, a stark contrast to her dark lipstick. "You here tonight...What's the meaning of that?"

"It's me...Showing you how it can work," Clary murmured, her fingers stretching out for his hand, tightening around his. "I called Lydia, and she organized it all. She didn't need to say that she represented me as Adele Morgenstern, just as Clarissa Fray. Apparently my name still holds enough sway to get in." Jace gave her a smile. "This..." she took in a deep breath. "This isn't something that I'm going to be able to do all the time. I'm not at _all_ interested in doing this for me. I'm only doing this for us—" she broke off and gave him a nervous look. "I'm only doing this for us, if this _us_ is what you want."

"You have no idea how much I want this, Clary," Jace told her, emotion clear on his face as he reached out, his hand shifting from his hand to the side of his face, his fingers touching her delicate jaw. Clary smile was almost blinding and it felt as though Jace's heart skipped a couple of beats in his chest.

"Yeah?" Her voice sounded shaky.

"Yeah," Jace was surprised by the way his own voice sounded, a little bit trembly, similar to hers. "I mean, it's going to be a bit messy at first, while we get the hang of it all, and it's in no way going to be easy, but we'll get there. I think we can get there together."

"Fuck yeah, we can," Clary sniffed and he could see that her eyes were shiny again, but he knew that this time, they weren't from tears of hurt. He took in a sharp breath.

"And you know that video is going to come back up again," he told her softly, watching her face carefully. He didn't want to scare her off, but he wanted to make sure that she knew what was coming her way.

"I know," Clary said, determination glowing in her eyes. His fingers slid further up her face, pressing against the hinge of her jaw beside her ear, massaging lightly, and her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. "I know that things will change. I know that things aren't going to easy. But I think we can get through it together," she took in a deep breath. "I'm not—I'm not going to go on parade for all the cameras, or take a hundred selfies a day with your fans, and I'm definitely not revealing that I'm Adele Morgenstern, because that will just drag a whole lot more up that I don't want—"

"That's fine, that's totally fine," Jace assured Clary, leaning forward and finally letting their lips come together, which he had been aching to do since for the past few months that they had been apart. The kiss began soft, tentative, Jace's tongue reached out and traced her lips, ignoring the tacky feel of her lipstick before touching the seam of her mouth. His hands itched to tangle themselves in her hair, but it was all still pinned up and he had no idea how to undo it. So instead, he let his hands trail down her neck, feather light over her shoulders and her collarbone. Clary was shaking by the time his hands made it down to her hands again, wrapping her smaller ones with his own.

"Uh," they heard Peter clear his throat. "Mr Wayland? Miss? We're here." They parted and looked forward, to where Peter was giving them a raised eyebrow look. Clary let out a little giggle as she ducked her hair and swiped her hand over her mouth, where her lipstick was smudged. They hadn't even realized that the car had stopped and they were outside Jace's hotel building.

"Oh, thank you, Peter," Jace flashed a smile and it looked as though the driver was trying not to laugh as he nodded at the younger man.

"You've got a little something that you might want to rub off," he noted with an amused smile. Jace's hand went to his lips and when he pulled it away, he saw some of Clary's dark coloured lipstick on his fingers. He grinned and shrugged, not caring who saw him with her lipstick on his mouth.

"I'll see you next time, Peter," Jace nodded, gripping Clary's hand as he opened his door and slid out, pulling Clary after her. He could hear her laughing behind him as they ran toward the building, the doorman opened the door of the building for them, and they quickly crossed the lobby, almost at a run. Clary's dress was streaming out behind them—Jace caught a glimpse of it in the shiny, polished walls. The way that Clary kept laughing, sounding free and happy, made his heart feel as though it was going to burst out of his chest, feeling happier than he had in a long time, even when he had been with her and his family in Seattle.

Because there was nothing between them now.

There was nothing that holding them apart.

He had her.

She was his.

They reached the elevator, and Jace jabbed his finger for the penthouse and then turned to look at Clary next to him. Her cheeks were flushed and glowing, her lipstick was faded and her smile was wide, and her chest was rising and falling a little quicker from their run. Jace pulled his lower lip into his mouth, drinking in how beautiful she looked, and she saw the way his eyes dropped down to his mouth, her eyes darkening. The tension was palpable, crackling between them, and Jace could barely refrain from claiming her mouth again, because he knew that if he felt her against him again, he was going to end up taking her right there in the elevator.

The _ping_ of the elevator reaching his floor rang out so loudly that they both jumped, and then looked at each other and laughed. Jace clenched his fingers even tighter around hers, as though afraid she was going to evaporate if he let go. They walked into his apartment, down the hallway toward her bedroom. Jace didn't even think about the art work on the walls, given how long it had been there, but Clary stopped, tugging on his hand.

"How many of mine do you have?" She breathed as she stared up at her paintings, lining his walls, in expensive frames.

"I don't know," Jace shrugged, smiling at her. "A lot?" Clary let out a laugh and shook her head. She gave him a heated look through her eyelashes.

"So? Your bedroom?" She nudged her and gave a cheeky grin. Jace smiled, gripping her hips and walking backwards, toward his room. He turned on the light, wanting to be able to see her as he took her apart with his mouth and his fingers. Her eyes moved around the room, falling on the picture beside his bed. The one she had given him years and years ago. "You kept it?" Her voice shook as she looked back at him.

"I held onto as much of you as I could," Jace whispered, cupping her face in his hands and drawing her in close to him. He leaned forward, resting their foreheads together and breathing in deeply.

"You've got me now," Clary murmured to him, her hands reaching out and gripping his jacket, pulling their lower halves together.

"I love you," Jace uttered and Clary let out a noise that sounded like a sob.

"I love you too," Clary managed to breathe before their mouths crashed together.

 _Okay! Now in TV series news...I woke up last Friday morning and was absolutely devastated that_ Brooklyn Nine-Nine _was cancelled. Then it got picked up by NBC and thank god! But_ Designated Survivor _and_ Lucifer _being cancelled...Shit, man. I'm pretty behind on_ Lucifer _but I adore_ Designated Survivor _and so I'm pretty upset about that. I'm glad we've got another season of_ Gotham, The 100, SVU _and_ Criminal Minds _coming up, so that eases my soul. And has everyone seen the trailer for the_ Sense8 _finale? I still can't believe it's cancelled, it was such an amazing show! It was diverse and held incredible themes and amazing action and emotion. Shit, man. It was honestly one of the most beautiful shows and it changed my whole life and it made me cry so much, out of happiness and sadness. Excuse me while I got cry again about it being almost over..._

 _Songs that I'm currently in love with;_ Young Love _by Eli Lieb,_ So Far Away _by David Guetta featuring Martin Garrix,_ Breathe In. Breathe Out _by Hilary Duff—I will never_ not _be in love with her, she's a symbol of my childhood!—_ Over and Over _by Madeline Merlo and_ Fade Away _by Breaking Benjamin. I haven't listened to Breaking Benjamin in ages and everytime I get back into their music I'm like_ why haven't I listened to this for so long? _Oh, also. Weirdly enough—_ Delicate _by Taylor Swift. I'm in no way a fan of Taylor Swift, loved her old stuff but over the past five years I just find her annoying, but I actually really liked this one._

 _Okay! So that's it! That's this story all over!_

 _Please leave me with one last review and thank you so much again for your support!_


End file.
